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MAN 

IN   THE    LIGHT   OF 

EVOLUTION 


MAN 

IN  THE  LIGHT  OF 

EVOLUTION 


BY 


JOHN    M.   TYLER,    Ph. D 

PROFESSOR  OF  BIOLOGY,  AMHERST  COLLEGE 


D.   APPLETON   AND    COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 

1908 


Copyright,  1908,  by 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Pumshed  Oetoler,  1908 


PREFACE 


Almost  fifty  years  ago  Mr.  Darwin  pub- 
lished the  *'  Origin  of  Species."  His  "  Descent 
of  Man  "  followed  some  years  later.  A  host 
of  books  have  since  been  written  on  evolution, 
Darwinism,  and  natural  selection.  But  com- 
paratively few  zoologists  have  attempted  to 
show  the  bearing  of  the  theory  of  evolution  on 
man's  history,  progress,  and  hfe.  They  have 
generally  left  this  problem  to  the  sociologist 
and  archaeologist. 

This  need  not  surprise  us.  All  problems  of 
life  are  exceedingly  complex.  Nature  is,  or 
seems,  very  illogical.  Why,  then,  attack  the 
problem  in  its  most  difficult  form  in  the  highest 
and  most  complex  living  being  until  we  have 
gained  an  approximate  solution  of  the  questions 
involved  in  the  life  of  the  lower  and  simpler? 
The  zoologist  wisely  hesitates  before  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  attempt. 

This  voluntary  cession  of  the  fairest  part  of 


Preface 

his  kingdom  has  injured  the  zoologist  in  many 
ways.  If  man  is  the  product  of  evolution,  and 
all  life  belongs  to  one  grand  series,  though  with 
many  branches,  the  lower  and  incomplete  mani- 
festation should  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  man's 
structure  and  powers  as  well  as  the  converse. 
Failure  to  recognize  this  truth  has  sometimes 
made  our  science  one-sided  and  narrow. 

Meanwhile  many  have  discussed  the  evolution 
of  family,  society,  morals,  and  religion  who  have 
not  fully  recognized  the  complexity  of  the  prob- 
lem. Some  have  looked  at  man  entirely  in  the 
light  of  lower  animals,  almost  as  if  he  were  a 
mere  clam  or  worm,  and  have  formed  theories 
of  human  evolution  adequate  only  to  these  lower 
forms.  We  have  had  many  "  gladiatorial  theo- 
ries "  in  spite  of  Professor  Huxley's  warning. 
Others,  recognizing  more  clearly  man's  unique 
position,  have  practically  discarded  all  laws  of 
evolution  applicable  to  lower  forms.  Some  such 
writers  have  almost  neglected  the  power  of  natu- 
ral selection. 

The  great  body  of  thinkers  and  workers  have 
little  interest  or  care  for  facts  or  theories  of 
zoology  which  do  not  seem  evidently  related  to 
human  life.     The  anatomy  of  worms  and  the 

vi 


Preface 

number  and  structure  of  chromosomes  unfortu- 
nately does  not  appeal  to  them. 

Hence  many,  seeing  the  diversity  of  theories 
of  evolution,  find  little  in  any  of  them  which  Is 
clear  and  sure  and  of  practical  Importance.  It 
Is  too  academic  for  their  tastes.  Hence  we  hear 
of  the  inadequacy,  decline,  or  failure  of  Dar- 
winism, or  even  of  evolution.  Even  when 
Darwinism  Is  not  denied,  it  is  often  not  accepted 
with  the  cordiality  and  enthusiasm  which  it  de- 
serves. The  "  splendor  of  truth  "  has  not  been 
recognized  as  widely  and  clearly  as  it  should  be. 

In  presenting  this  brief  study  of  *'  Man  in  the 
Light  of  Evolution  "  I  am  well  aware  of  the  dif- 
ficulties and  hazard  of  the  attempt.  Questions 
of  great  complexity  must  be  handled  In  a  few 
pages.  Many  very  Important  theories  must  be 
neglected.  If  one  would  present  the  subject  to 
those  who  have  made  little  or  no  special  study 
of  zoology.  And  this  attempt  is  made  chiefly 
for  the  benefit  of  lay  readers.  The  multitude 
of  trees  must  not  be  allowed  to  hide  the  forest 
— to  borrow  a  German  proverb. 

I  have  attempted  to  mark  out  a  straight,  If 
somewhat  narrow,  path  through  the  forest,  and 
one  which  leads  to  some  of  the  most  Important 

•  • 

Vll 


Preface 

viewpoints  from  which  a  wide  outlook  may  be 
gained.  I  hope  that  some  may  be  tempted  to 
explore  more  widely  by  the  aid  of  the  brief  bib- 
liography at  the  end  of  the  volume.  The  sub- 
ject Is  surely  worthy  of  our  closest  attention  and 
thought. 

I  make  no  apology  for  emphasizing  through- 
out the  study  the  Importance  of  the  moral  and 
religious  powers,  as  well  as  of  social  and  family 
life.  These  are  the  most  marked  and  Important 
human  characters.  To  leave  them  In  the  back- 
ground of  any  study  of  man  Is  to  present  the 
play  of  "  Hamlet  "  with  Hamlet  left  out. 

I  have  viewed  animals  and  men  more  from 
the  physiological  than  ^from  the  anatomical 
standpoint.  Much  Is  said  of  functions,  powers, 
actions;  less  of  organs  and  structure.  I  know 
neither  the  location  nor  structure  of  the  organ 
of  fellow-feeling  or  hate,  of  morals  or  religion, 
and  of  many  other  mental  powers,  provided  they 
have  a  special  center  In  the  brain.  A  first  or 
second  association  area  even  does  not  help  a 
great  deal  here,  though  I  would  be  the  last  to 
undervalue  Professor  Flechslg's  great  work. 
And  yet  we  must  talk  of  these  powers. 

One  who  does  not  believe  In  the  Inheritance  of 

•  •  • 

vni 


Preface 

acquired  characters  may  say:  Effects  of  use  and 
disuse,  of  habit,  are  not  inherited,  and  have  no 
value  or  effect  in  evolution.  But  use  and  dis- 
use— in  one  word,  habit — always  accompany  a 
certain  environment,  and  make  life  possible  or 
successful  only  under  certain  surroundings  or 
conditions.  Habits  and  conditions  thus  modify 
the  trend  and  direction  of  natural  selection,  and 
favor  the  survival  of  any  form  having  a  congen- 
ital, structural  variation  useful  to  the  possessor 
of  the  habit.  To  judge  from  the  writings  of 
the  Neo-Darwinlans,  congenital  variation  in  a 
certain  direction  may  always  be  relied  upon  to 
occur  when  needed.  It  is  a  very  present  help  in 
all  times  of  trouble. 

The  primitive  vertebrate,  to  use  only  one  Illus- 
tration, had  been  driven  from  the  bottom  by 
stronger  competitors,  and  was  compelled  to 
maintain  a  swimming  habit.  His  environment 
was  totally  different  from  that  of  the  animals 
creeping  on  a  sea  bottom  rich  In  food  but 
crowded  with  competitors  of  every  kind.  As 
the  swimming  habit  was  necessary,  natural  selec- 
tion would  repress  all  tendencies  toward  an  ex- 
ternal skeleton  as  long  as  it  could  hinder  this 
form   of  locomotion.      Its  appearance  later  In 

ix 


Preface 

ganoids  does  not  concern  us  here.  On  the  bot- 
tom the  external  skeleton  would  be  fostered. 
Here,  as  In  most  cases,  though  perhaps  not  in 
all,  habit  and  natural  selection  work  together 
toward  the  same  goal.  The  one  can  accomplish 
what  the  other  may  not  do.  The  Neo-Lamarck- 
lan  recognizes  the  value  of  both  habit  and  struc- 
ture; the  Neo-Darwinian  will  not  deny  this 
action  and  tendency  of  selection. 

While  writing  the  book  I  have  been  continu- 
ally reminded  of  pleasant  moments  passed  in  dis- 
cussing these  and  other  questions  with  pupils  of 
successive  classes.  If  the  book  has  any  value,  a 
large  part  of  it  is  due  to  the  stimulus  of  their 
interest.  If  it  can  arouse  something  of  the  same 
Interest,  and  now  and  then  a  healthy  opposition 
In  other  minds,  I  will  be  more  than  content. 

J.  M.  T. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

EVOLUTION   AND    DARWINISM 

PAGE 

Before  Darwin — Domestication;  breeding;  artificial 
selection — Natural  selection — Fact  and  theory — 
Racial  evolution  and  individual  development — 
Progress  through  experiment — The  struggle  for 
existence •        .        .        .       I 

CHAPTER   n 

STAGES    OF    HUMAN    EVOLUTION 

Physical  evolution — ^The  single  cell — ^The  age  of  diges- 
tion and  reproduction — ^Worms,  and  the  dawn  of 
muscular  locomotion — Experiments  with  a  skeleton 
— Clams — Insects — Fish,  and  a  backbone — Am- 
phibia and  reptiles;  the  development  of  legs — Land 
life  and  air-breathing — Warm  blood  and  intelligence 
— Arboreal  life;  the  hand  and  erect  posture — 
Order  of  succession  in  the  development  of  muscles 
and  nerve  centers 22 

xi 


Contents 


CHAPTER  III 

FAMILY  AND    SOCIETY 


PAGE 


Origin  of  family  life — Society — Selection  of  families  and 
larger  groups — The  reign  of  custom — Tribal  re- 
sponsibility and  conscience — The  clan  and  progress 
— Nations;  races;  the  brotherhood  of  man — 
Progress  and  degeneration — Man  a  product  of  all 
the  geological  ages — Complexity  of  human  structure 
— Evolution  a  series  of  changes  and  of  successive 
attainment  of  subsidiary  and  secondary  ends  .        .     41 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE    LOGIC   OF    EVOLUTION 

Protoplasm — Cell  colonies — Digestion  and  muscle — 
Muscular  locomotion  and  sense  organs  stimulate 
brain — Reversal  of  law  of  sequence  of  function  leads 
to  degeneration — Mental  evolution — Sequence  of 
perceptions — Study  of  relations — Morals  and  re- 
ligion— Sequence  of  motives — The  human  plane  of 
life — The  goal  of  human  development   .        .        .     61 

CHAPTER  V 

THE    SURVIVAL   OF   THE    FITTEST 

Survival  and  progress  both  essential  to  fitness — Com- 
petitors during  the  paleozoic  age;  the  mesozoic 
age;  the  cenozoic  age — The  battle  not  to  the  strong 
— Dominance  and  fitness — The  spur  of  necessity — 

XU 


Contents 


PAGE 


Fitness  and  the  exercise  of  nascent  powers  of  high- 
est capacity 92 

CHAPTER  VI 

EVOLUTION   AND    FAITH 

Life  an  experiment — Progress  into  an  untried  and  un- 
certain future — Attention,  interest,  inspiration,  pur- 
pose, character — Faith  and  fitness — Faith  and 
manhood — Faith  and  the  development  of  the  in- 
dividual— The  Valley  of  Humihation       .        .       .115 

CHAPTER  Vn 

RACIAL    EXPERIENCE 

Experiment  and  intelligence — Racial  experiments — The 
verdict  of  history — Instincts;  axioms,  convictions — 
Convictions,  character,  power — Contagion  of  per- 
sonality— Knowledge  and  faith  ....    131 

CHAPTER  VIII 

CONFORMITY   TO    ENVIRONMENT 

Plasticity  and  power  of  adaptation — Conformity  to  any 
and  every  environment  does  not  guarantee  progress 
— Environment  studied  in  the  light  of  its  effects  and 
results — Environment  and  surroundings — Impor- 
tance of  a  new  relation — Improved  surroundings  no 
guarantee  of  progress — Progress  and  the  problem 
of  the  will — The  leaven  of  a  great  life     .        .        .163 

•  •  • 

Xlll 


Contents 


CHAPTER   IX 

SOCIAL    ENVIRONMENT 

PAGa 

Practical  application  of  the  theory  of  evolution — The 
goal  of  evolution — Inequalities  in  the  social  life 
of  to-day — Distinction  between  social  surround- 
ings and  social  environment — Means  of  progress; 
inherited  ideals,  education,  the  school,  the  press, 
the  Church — The  outlook  for  the  future — Evolu- 
tion underneath  all  conservative — Importance  of 
the  individual 184 

Appendix  with  Charts 210 

Bibliography 223 

Index 229 


MAN    IN    THE    LIGHT    OF 
EVOLUTION 


CHAPTER    I 

DARWINISM 

I  ESS  than  fifty  years  ago  Mr.  Darwin  pub- 
lished the  "  Origin  of  Species."  But 
the  Idea  of  evolution  was  well  known 
by  Greek  and  Hindu  philosophers  who  lived 
more  than  two  thousand  years  before.  Aris- 
tophanes, apparently  quoting  from  some  far 
older  writer,  says :  "  Chaos  was  and  night,  and 
Erebus  black  and  wide  Tartarus.  No  earth 
nor  air  nor  sky  was  yet,  when  in  the  bosom  of 
vast  Erebus  (chaotic  darkness)  winged  night 
brought  forth  first  of  all  the  egg  from  which  in 
after-revolving  periods  sprang  Love,  the  much 
desired,  glittering  with  golden  wings.  And 
Love  again,  in  union  with  Chaos,  produced  the 
breed  of  the  human  race.'' 

Here  the  process  by  which  higher  forms  are 

I 


Ma7t  in  the  Light  of  Evoltttion 

produced  from  lower  Is  a  birth,  not  a  creation. 
It  Is  evolution  pure  and  simple.  Says  Professor 
Lewis:  "  According  to  the  ancient  view  the  pres- 
ent world  was  a  growth;  It  was  born,  and  came 
from  something  antecedent,  not  merely  as  a 
cause  but  as  Its  seed  or  embryo.  Plato's  world 
was  a  living  being,  a  natural  production."  ^ 

The  Idea  of  origin  by  birth  from  some  pre- 
ceding form,  and  this  is  the  essential  idea  of  evo- 
lution, was  perfectly  natural  and  reasonable  to 
the  writers  of  the  Bible,  and  apparently  to  all 
ancient  Oriental  thinkers.  They  speak  of  the 
"  generations  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth  " 
as  of  the  generations  of  the  patriarchs.  The 
writer  of  the  ninetieth  psalm  says:  '*  Before  the 
mountains  were  born,  or  ever  thou  hadst  brought 
to  birth  the  earth  and  the  world,"  if  we  translate 
his  words  literally.  Here  we  have  side  by  side 
the  thought  of  a  primal  creation  and  of  later 
evolution.  The  mind  of  these  ancient  thinkers 
was  broad  enough  to  conceive  of  both  these 
processes;  we  are  prone  to  overemphasize  one 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  other. 


1  Lewis,    Tayler,    "Six     Days    of    Creation,"    Chapter 
XXIV. 

2 


Darwmtsm 


Similar  views  were  held  by  the  church  fathers. 
Augustine  speaks  frequently  of  the  laws  of  na- 
ture.^ By  these  he  explained  the  phenomena  of 
the  physical  world,  not  by  constant  divine  inter- 
ventions. He  distinguishes  sharply  between  the 
work  of  creation  and  that  of  formation  or  de- 
velopment. The  former  was  direct  and  simul- 
taneous, the  later  gradual  and  progressive,  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  nature.  He  says  that 
animals  and  plants  were  produced,  not  as  they 
now  appear,  but  virtually  and  in  germ.  All 
things  were  created  originally  in  an  elementary 
condition  and  developed  and  assumed  their  pres- 
ent form  subsequently  "  according  to  opportun- 
ity." Other  even  more  striking  passages  might 
easily  be  quoted  from  this  old  evolutionist. 

The  earth  was  to  all  these  men  no  mere  clod 
or  mass;  it  pulsated  with  life,  brought  forth  of 
itself,  and  responded  to  divine  commands  or  in- 
fluences. In  all  the  wheels  of  nature  there  was 
a  true  spirit  of  life,  while  above  was  the  firma- 
ment and  the  throne. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  Suarez  In  Spain 
and  Milton  In  England  propounded  the  theory 

^  Osborn,  H.  F.,  "From  the  Greeks  to  Darwin,"  p.  71. 
8  3 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


of  the  Immediate  creation  of  distinct  species.  I 
can  find  no  clear  statement  of  the  theory  before 
this  time.  Hence  Mr.  Huxley  has  rightly  called 
It  the  MUtonlc  hypothesis.  In  the  eighteenth 
century  It  was  adopted  by  Linnaeus  and  gener- 
ally accepted  by  the  scientific  world.  Early  In 
the  nineteenth  century  Lamarck,  a  French  natu- 
rahst,  attempted  to  prove  that  new  species  could 
arise  from  old  ones  by  gradual  changes  resulting 
from  the  use  and  disuse  of  organs.  But  his 
theory  was  crude  and  capable  of  but  limited 
application.  It  gained  few  adherents  and  little 
attention  at  the  time.  Conditions  were  not  yet 
ripe  for  the  return  of  the  theory  of  evolution. 

Thus  Mr.  Darwin  was  far  from  being  the  first 
to  discover  the  theory  of  evolution.  His  great 
and  difficult  w^ork  was  to  put  the  old  metaphysi- 
cal theory  on  a  sound  scientific  basis,  and  to 
prove  that  evolution  was  not  only  attractive  and 
creditable  but  reasonable  and  practicable.  He 
had  to  show  how  and  why  one  form  could  slowly 
and  gradually  change  Into  another  of  higher  and 
more  complex  structure,  or  sink  to  a  lower  grade 
of  life.  Our  first  need  Is  a  simple  and  clear  out- 
line of  his  theory. 

There  Is  hardly  a  more  Interesting  chapter  In 

4 


Darwinism 


zoology  than  the  history  of  our  domesticated 
plants  and  animals.  Many  of  them,  like  our 
fowls  and  pigeons,  are  almost  certainly  descended 
from  one  original  wild  species.  Yet  under  do- 
mestication there  has  arisen  a  great  number  of 
races  or  breeds  so  different  that,  were  they  wild, 
we  should  not  hesitate  to  refer  them  to  distinct 
species  or  genera.  Not  only  color  and  form  of 
feathers,  but  even  the  skeleton,  as  well  as  the 
muscles,  have  been  modified.  Mr.  Darwin  says : 
"  Breeders  habitually  speak  of  an  animal's  or- 
ganization as  something  quite  plastic,  which  they 
can  model  almost  as  they  please.  ...  Sir  John 
Sebright  used  to  say  with  respect  to  pigeons  that 
he  would  produce  any  given  feather  In  three 
years,  but  that  It  would  take  him  six  years  to 
obtain  head  and  beak." 

The  breeder  depends  for  his  success  on  three 
facts.  The  first  Is  the  law  of  heredity — like  be- 
gets like.  If  the  parents  are  peculiar  In  some 
respect,  some  of  their  children  will  Inherit  this 
peculiarity  enhanced.  In  others  It  will  be  less 
marked.  The  second  fact  Is  the  law  of  varia- 
tion. The  offspring  Is  probably  never  exactly 
like  either  parent,  and  no  two  of  the  descendants 
of  a  single  pair  are  Identical.     But  the  variation 

5 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

in  a  single  generation  is  usually  slight.  Only  as 
these  slight  variations  are  accumulated  from 
year  to  year,  is  any  marked  change  or  improve- 
ment perceptible. 

Thirdly,  the  success  of  the  breeder  in  accumu- 
lating these  slight  variations  depends  upon  his 
skill  in  selecting  those  individuals  which  have 
the  desired  characteristics  most  marked,  and  al- 
lowing only  these  to  breed.  This  process  of 
selection  must  be  kept  up  for  years.  But,  if 
skillfully  applied  under  favorable  conditions, 
excellent  results  are  almost  sure  to  follow.  The 
superiority  of  the  Saxon  wool  was  due  very 
largely  to  the  careful  examination  and  selection 
of  the  sheep  by  trained  experts.  The  size  of 
fruits,  the  speed  of  the  trotting  horse,  the  amount 
of  milk  or  cream  produced  by  cows,  the  number 
of  eggs  laid  by  fowls,  the  value,  the  beauty,  and 
in  some  cases  the  ugliness,  of  dogs — all  these 
characteristics  have  been  marvelously  increased 
by  the  same  process. 

The  laws  of  heredity  and  of  variation  apply 
equally  well  to  domesticated  and  to  wild  ani- 
mals. Wild  animals  probably  vary  somewhat 
less  than  domestic.  But  even  here  variations  are 
more  frequent  and  often  more  marked  than  many 

6 


Darwinism 


of  us  suspect.  To  cite  only  one  familiar  in- 
stance: The  examination  of  any  bundle  of  fox 
skins  on  a  dealer's  counter  or  in  a  trapper's  pack 
will  often  reveal  marked  variety  in  color,  fine- 
ness, and  other  respects.  Variations  occur  also 
in  deep-seated  structures — bones,  muscles,  and 
even  nerves — as  well  as  in  the  superficial  cover- 
ing of  the  body. 

Mr.  Darwin  had  to  seek  for  some  force, 
process,  or  tendency  in  nature  which  would  work 
in  wild  animals  a  selection  somewhat  similar  to 
that  practiced  by  the  breeder  among  domesticated 
forms.  If  he  could  find  this,  he  had  every  reason 
to  believe  that  their  slight  variations  would  grad- 
ually accumulate  sufficiently  to  give  rise  to  new 
species  or  genera,  or  even  larger  groups.  Any 
slight  incompleteness  in  the  natural  process  would 
only  make  the  accumulation  proceed  more  slow- 
ly; it  would  not  arrest  it  completely.  Thus  the 
central  thought  of  Mr.  Darwin's  theory  is  that  of 
a  Natural  Selection.  This  process  is  the  neces- 
sary result  of  the  struggle  for  existence. 

All  living  species  tend  to  increase  in  geomet- 
rical progression.  If  a  pair  of  birds  producing 
four  eggs  should  breed  only  once  in  a  lifetime 
and  all  should  survive,  the  number  of  indlvid- 

7 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

uals  would  double  in  each  generation.  Frogs 
produce  several  hundred  eggs  at  each  spawning ; 
fish,  thousands  or  even  millions.  The  insect  lays 
several  hundred  eggs.  If  of  all  these  eggs  only 
two  produce  mature  individuals,  the  number  of 
the  individuals  in  the  species  will  be  maintained. 
Most  species  of  plants  or  animals  remain  about 
as  common  or  rare  one  year  as  another  for  long 
periods. 

Sometimes  an  insect,  like  the  currant  worm  or 
potato  bug,  escapes  from  a  territory  where  food 
is  limited  and  enemies  abound  to  a  region  of 
fewer  enemies  and  abundant  food.  It  multiplies 
and  swarms,  a  devastating  pest.  But  animals 
which  feed  upon  it  or  parasites  which  live  in  it 
are  also  benefited.  They  increase  with  equal  or 
greater  rapidity.  Finally  they  become  sufficiently 
numerous  to  subdue  it  or  to  keep  It  within 
bounds.  The  great  and  rapid  increase  has  been 
due  to  surrounding  conditions  favoring  survival 
of  young,  far  more  than  to  any  increase  of  repro- 
ductive power.  If  all  the  young  of  even  the 
most  slowly  reproducing  animals  could  survive, 
there  would  not  be  standing  room  for  them  on 
the  globe  after  a  few  centuries. 

Let  us  suppose  that  a  certain  insect  produces 

8 


Darwinism 


only  one  hundred  eggs,  a  number  below  the  aver- 
age for  this  group.  The  young  from  only  two 
of  these  will  probably  survive  to  maturity.  If 
three  can  survive  there  will  be  fifty  per  cent  more 
of  the  descendants  of  this  Individual  than  of  the 
average.  If  the  species  is  common,  some  fifty 
thousand  of  the  young  will  compete  for  survival 
in  a  certain  area.  But  where  one  survives  forty- 
nine  perish. 

If  two  men  picked  by  lot  from  the  young 
people  of  a  town  run  a  race,  the  winner  may 
lead  by  several  yards  or  even  rods.  If  ten  run, 
the  finish  will  be  closer.  If  one  thousand  run, 
the  distance  between  the  first  and  the  second  man 
will  probably  be  only  a  few  inches.  An  atom 
more  of  muscle,  wind,  endurance,  or  pluck  will 
often  give  the  prize. 

The  fifty  thousand  young  or  eggs  of  our  in- 
sect species  are  like  the  runners  In  the  race.  Only 
one  thousand  can  survive.  The  finish  will  be 
very  close.  Some  of  the  young  have  Inherited 
from  their  ancestors  a  slight  peculiarity,  which 
gives  them  a  very  small  advantage.  It  is  think- 
able that  of  these,  four  out  of  each  hundred 
might  survive  In  each  generation  instead  of  two. 
If  this  rate  could  be  maintained  for  four  or  five 

9 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 


years  the  Individuals  possessing  this  peculiarity 
would  become  very  numerous,  and  the  descend- 
ants of  less  favored  individuals  would  be  out- 
numbered, if  the  number  of  survivors  in  the 
whole  species  remained  constant.  So  great  an 
advantage  would  very  rarely  occur.  But  it  is 
evident  that  the  very  slightest  advantage  contin- 
ued from  year  to  year  would  markedly  increase 
the  number  of  individuals  attaining  maturity. 
Any  continued  change  In  conditions  will  favor 
the  survival  of  descendants  of  forms  whose  in- 
dividual characteristics  are  best  adapted  to  the 
new  surroundings.  In  the  long  run  those  best 
adapted  to  their  environment  will  survive  and 
develop,  attain  maturity,  and  hand  down  their 
characteristics  to  the  largest  number  in  the  next 
generation.  The  rest  will  die  at  various  stages 
of  Immaturity  and  be  prevented  from  breeding. 
It  is  evident  that  there  Is  and  must  be  a  uni- 
versal process  of  natural  selection  corresponding 
to  the  artificial  selection  of  the  breeder  of  domes- 
tic animals.  This  process  tends  to  accumulate 
variations  from  generation  to  generation.  Its 
results  will  probably  be  far  slower  and  more 
gradual  than  the  breeder's  artificial  selection,  but 
for  the  same  reason  they  may  be  more  sure  and 

lO 


Darwinism 


permanent.  It  will  result  in  the  "  preservation 
of  favored  races  in  the  struggle  for  life,"  and  in 
conformity  to  environment  in  the  resulting  spe- 
cies or  larger  groups.  Only  the  fittest  can  sur- 
vive. 

Viewed  as  a  hypothesis,  Mr.  Darwin's  argu- 
ment is  clear,  logical,  and  irrefutable.  Will  it 
work?  Or  is  it  only  a  plausible  conjecture? 
Mr.  Darwin  spent  twenty  years  in  applying  and 
testing  his  theory  before  he  published  a  word  on 
the  subject.  He  made  a  most  careful  study  of 
all  the  literature.  He  experimented  on  pigeons 
and  seedlings,  on  anything  and  everything  which 
could  throw  light  on  the  question.  He  con- 
sulted with  the  wisest  and  most  careful  observers 
and  students.  He  had  a  marvelously  calm,  fair, 
judicial  mind,  devoid  of  all  prejudice.  In  ac- 
cepting evidence  he  was  cautious  almost  to  a 
fault. 

In  1859  he  published  *' The  Origin  of  Spe- 
cies." He  packed  the  experience  and  thought  of 
a  lifetime  into  one  small  volume.  It  is  terribly 
condensed  and  hard  reading.  But  it  is  a  mar- 
velous result  of  deep  and  wide  study  logically 
expressed.  No  one  has  ever  surpassed  him  in 
clearness  aii,l  fairness  of  statement  of  the  ob- 

II 


Man  ill  the  Light  of  Evolution 

jections  to  his  theory.  He  gives  them  all  due 
weight  and  attention. 

The  book  met  a  quick  and  favorable  response 
from  students  of  science.  It  was  anything  but 
popular  in  style  and  tone,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  general  community  was  slow  to  appre- 
hend its  true  meaning  and  bearing.  It  was 
often  misunderstood,  and  the  theory  has  fre- 
quently been  misstated.  Long  study,  much  ex- 
perience, and  great  patience  were  needed  for 
a  proper  appreciation  and  understanding  of  its 
arguments.  Misunderstanding  resulted  in  false 
inferences.  Prejudice  was  aroused.  Discussion 
often  resulted  in  more  heat  than  light,  and  zeal 
was  often  greater  than  knowledge.  Gradually 
the  misunderstandings  were  explained,  heat 
abated,  a  fair  comprehension  and  appreciation 
of  the  theory  followed,  and  now  its  main  fea- 
tures have  received  almost  universal  accept- 
ance. 

It  Is  impossible  and  unnecessary  to  find  place 
here  for  the  arguments  for  and  proofs  of  the 
theory.  They  can  be  found  stated  clearly  and  at 
length  In  many  books. ^     But  the  relation  of  the 


1  See  Bibliography.       ^^ 
12 


Darwinism 


theory  to  our  system  of  classification  demands 
attention. 

The    systematic    naturalists    who    had    long 
,  studied  the  classification   of  living  and   extinct 

,'  animals  generally  accepted  the  theory  readily  be- 
cause it  gave  a  clear  and  satisfactory  answer  to 

I  the  questions  which  their  work  had  raised  in.- 
their  minds.  The  classification  of  the  animal 
kingdom  had  been  plotted  so  as  to  bring  to- 
gether like  forms  and  to  separate  unlike.  The 
great  groups,  like  classes  and  orders,  had  been 
based  on  deep-seated  characters,  which  changed 
slowly.  The  minor  subdivisions,  genera  and  spe- 
cies, were  characterized  by  more  superficial  traits 
which  might  easily  be  modified.  It  was  soon 
found  that  all  animals  could  not  be  arranged 
naturally  in  one  line  or  series,  but  that  the  clas- 
sification must  take  the  form  of  a  tree  with  many 
branches.^  It  had  long  been  recognized  that  the 
oldest  members  of  each  great  division  were 
generalized — that  is,  they  combined  characters 
which  In  later  forms  were  found  only  in  sepa- 
rate  classes   or  orders.      The   oldest   amphibia 

1  See   Appendix,   Charts;   cf.    Cope,    E.    D.,    "Primary 
Factors  of  Evolution,"  Chapter  II. 

13 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

were  much  like  fishes,  and  did  not  bring  out 
clearly  and  sharply  the  amphibian  characteristics. 
The  oldest  bird,  Archaeopteryx,  had  the  teeth 
and  long  tail  of  a  lizard.  The  lowest,  and 
probably  the  oldest,  mammals  laid  eggs,  like 
reptiles.  Such  a  generalized  or  comprehensive 
form  was  placed  by  common  consent  at  the  bot- 
tom of  its  line  or  branch.  Specialized  forms, 
which  brought  out  more  distinctly  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  group,  were  placed  at  the  ends 
of  branches.  Finer  branchlets  and  twigs  repre- 
sented the  genera  and  species. 

According  to  Mr.  Darwin's  theory  this  tree 
of  classification  was  a  genealogical  tree,  similar 
to  that  which  might  be  made  of  the  members 
of  any  family,  with  the  oldest  known  ancestor 
at  the  bottom  and  the  living  members  at  the 
end  of  the  branches.  The  relation  between  suc- 
cessive groups  along  each  branch  was  that  of 
descent  with  modification. 

Deep-seated  characters  had  become  fixed  in 
some  remote  ancestor  and  been  handed  down  to 
all  his  descendants.  Superficial  traits  naturally 
characterized  the  more  changeable  species.  Gen- 
eralized forms  stood  at  the  base  of  each  branch, 
because  their  descendants  were  continually  be- 

14 


Darwinism 


coming  more  specialized  as  they  became  more 
completely  adapted  to  their  own  special  environ- 
ments, their  limited  place  and  range  of  condi- 
tions. Such  a  genealogical  tree  must  show  the 
order  of  geological  occurrence  just  as  a  human 
genealogical  tree  must  show  the  succession  of 
generations  in  the  family. 

The  theory  offered  the  only  reasonable  ex- 
planation why  the  tree  showed  the  order  of  suc- 
cession, and  something  concerning  the  character, 
of  embryonic  stages.  It  explained  von  Baer's 
and  Agasslz's  discovery  that  higher  forms  dur- 
ing embryonic  life  passed  through  stages  or  con- 
ditions of  structure  which  remained  permanent 
in  the  adults  of  older  and  lower  groups  on  the 
same  line  or  branch. 

The  fowl  in  its  early  embryonic  life  passes 
through  a  stage  where  it  has  many  of  the  struc- 
tures of  a  fish,  and  later  another  with  reptilian 
characters.  Why  is  this?  The  first  living  be- 
ings were  minute  masses  of  living  substance 
or  protoplasm,  each  mass  containing  a  central 
spherical  body — the  nucleus.  These  single  cells 
or  unicellular  animals  gradually  formed  groups 
of  cells,  and  from  these  again,  after  a  long  time 
and  with  many  intermediate  stages,  wormlike 

15 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

forms  were  evolved.  Out  of  the  worm  the  first 
fish  was  developed,  and  from  these  primitive  am- 
phibians and  reptiles  were  evolved.  Birds  came 
from  a  branch  of  the  reptilian  line.  These  are 
only  a  few  of  the  stages  through  which  birds 
were  slowly  evolved  from  unicellular  animals 
through  long  ages. 

The  fowl,  like  every  living  being,  comes  from 
an  egg.  The  essential  part  of  every  egg  is  a 
single  cell.  A  very  large  part  of  the  yolk  of  a 
bird's  egg  and  all  the  white  is  merely  food  to 
support  the  growing  embryo.  Out  of  it  the  or- 
gans must  be  builded  and  the  energy  furnished 
for  the  long  embryonic  march  or  journey. 

How  does  the  egg  cell  ever  find  its  way 
through  this  long  march?  How  does  it  manage 
to  mold  a  body,  frame  a  skeleton,  stretch  the 
muscles,  spin  the  marvelous  cobweb  of  the  ner- 
vous system,  and  build  a  brain?  If  we  had  not 
seen  it  happen  so  many  times,  we  would  never 
believe  that  a  chicken  could  be  hatched  out  of 
such  a  thing  as  an  egg. 

This  much  would  seem  to  be  clear.  The  only 
way  in  which  the  single  cell  of  the  t^^  can  find 
its  way  to,  or  succeed  in  building  such  a  body,  is 
by  an  inherited  tendency  or  impulse  to  follow 

i6 


Darwinism 


the  same  line  which  all  its  ancestors  have  traced 
and  lengthened  from  earliest  time  to  the  day 
when  the  fully  developed  fowl  appeared.  It 
must  pass  successively  through  vermian,  fish, 
and  reptilian  stages.  It  is  not  the  straightest 
line  of  development,  but  it  is  the  most  natural 
and  perhaps  the  only  possible.  If  the  evolution 
theory  be  true,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  onto- 
genesis or  the  embryonic  development  of  the  in- 
dividual will  recapitulate  phylogenesis,  the  evo- 
lution of  the  species  or  larger  group. 

But  ontogenesis,  or  embryonic  development, 
occupies  a  few  days  or  months.  Phylogenetic, 
or  racial  development,  required  ages.  The  em- 
bryonic development  must  be  hastened  as  much 
as  possible.  Stages  which  can  be  slurred  over 
or  crowded  out  will  gradually  disappear.  Short 
cuts  will  be  taken  wherever  possible.  The  re- 
capitulation will  not  be  complete  or  exact.  But 
certain  stages  will  reappear  with  great  clearness. 

This  general  parallelism  between  the  develop- 
ment of  the  race  and  that  of  the  individual  has 
always  been  rightly  emphasized  as  one  of  the 
strongest  possible  arguments  for  the  truth  of  the 
theory.  It  Is  quite  inexplicable  by  any  other 
theory.     The  geological  succession  is  a  second 

17 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

argument.  The  facts  of  geographical  distribu- 
tion all  point  in  the  same  direction.  Mr.  Dar- 
win gave  a  firm  scientific  basis  to  the  old  meta- 
physical theory  of  evolution. 

The  theory  has  been  considered  by  some  as 
harsh  and  cruel  because  it  is  based  upon  the 
struggle  for  existence.  The  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, the  battle  and  carnage  in  nature,  is  a  fact, 
explain  it  how  you  will.  The  believer  in  im- 
mediate creation  of  species  had  to  face  the  fact 
that  hosts  of  carnivorous  forms  throughout  the 
animal  kingdom  preyed  upon  their  weaker  fel- 
lows. He  believed  that  all  life  on  the  globe, 
good  and  bad  alike,  had  been  repeatedly  com- 
pletely exterminated  by  convulsions  of  nature. 
He  had  seen  eveiywhere  proof  of  extinction  of 
species  independent  of  these  convulsions.  The 
evolutionist  sees  good  coming  from  all  these 
processes.  The  believer  in  immediate  creation 
had  no  explanation  to  offer. 

Life  always  has  been,  and  always  must  be,  an 
experiment.  The  animal  had  to  feel  its  way  to 
higher  structure.  At  every  stage  thousands  of 
experiments  had  to  be  tried  before  the  next 
higher  stage  was  successfully  attained.  Most  of 
the   experiments  failed  or  were  only  partially 

i8 


Darwinism 


successful.  Nothing  else  was  to  be  expected.  At 
every  stage  of  the  march  the  advancing  host 
spread  out,  seeking  the  right  upward  road. 
Many  promising  roads  led  to  impassable  bar- 
riers, or  to  the  Sloughs  of  Despond  or  of  Con- 
tentment. A  few  blazed  the  upward  way.  It 
was  an  expensive  process,  but  it  insured  final 
success.  It  would  be  difficult  to  discover  a  bet- 
ter process  under  the  conditions  of  the  experi- 
ment. 

The  struggle  for  existence  among  animals  is 
severe,  but  it  is  not  as  harsh  and  cruel  as  the 
struggle  for  wealth  and  comfort  among  men. 
I  The  biological  arena  is  far  less  cruel  than  Wall  J 
I  Street.  Mr.  Darwin  uses  the  phrase  in  a  very 
broad  and  often  metaphorical  sense.  Animals 
and  plants  struggle  mostly  with  their  physical 
surroundings,  cold  and  heat,  rain  or  drouth, 
with  enemies  and  hardships  of  the  most  various 
kinds. 

Young  animals  starting  in  life  are  like  a  host 
of  young  men  going  out  into  the  world  to  seek 
their  fortunes.  Some  of  these  young  men  fail 
at  the  very  start  for  lack  of  physical  stamina 
and  endurance,  or  because  utterly  devoid  of  busi- 
ness ability.  Competition  becomes  sharp  only 
3  19 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

between  a  comparatively  few  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful. Even  here  the  competition  does  not 
usually  take  the  form  of  physical  violence. 

The  cases  where  individuals  of  the  same  spe- 
cies actually  fight  to  crowd  one  another  out  are 
few.  Competition  for  food  may  be  severe,  but 
there  is  generally  enough  for  all.  Few  actually 
starve  except  in  hard  seasons.  The  fact  that 
many  are  born  and  few  survive  is  evident. 
Natural  selection  is  sure.  In  a  sense  there  is 
wholesale  competition  for  life.  But  we  do  not 
yet  clearly  know  the  exact  form  of  this  com- 
petition, the  laws  of  the  great  game.  Mr.  Dar- 
win is  wisely  very  cautious  in  his  statements  on 
this  point,  and  we  may  well  follow  his  example. 

Even  this  competition  is  always  diminished 
by  the  divergence  of  species.  They  are  continu- 
ally seeking  new  places  and  conditions  in  nature 
where  the  pressure  will  be  less  severe.^  They 
become  accustomed  to  new  kinds  of  food,  dis- 
perse from  one  region  into  another  of  different 
conditions.  Every  great  group  tends  to  spread, 
to  occupy  larger  fields,  and  to  try  new  experi- 

^  Osborn,  H.  F.,  "Adaptive  Radiation,"  Amer.  Nat.,  vol, 
xxxvi  (1902),  p.  353. 

20 


Darwinism 


ments.  This  tends  to  diminish  the  competition 
between  members  of  the  same  group,  but  rather 
increases  It  between  different  groups,  though  even 
here  the  competition  is  less  direct  and  keen. 

"  Nature  is  no  fairy  godmother."  Her 
laws  are  stern,  and  the  transgressor  pays  the 
penalty.  But  this  is  no  excuse  for  painting  her 
as  more  harsh,  not  to  say  cruel,  than  she  really  is. 


CHAPTER    II 

STAGES   IN    HUMAN    EVOLUTION 

WHEN  we  look  at  a  great  mountain,  we 
notice  first  its  height  and  shape.  We 
observe  its  cliffs  and  great  rock 
masses,  its  summit  in  the  clouds.  As  we  approach 
nearer  we  see  that  its  slopes  are  covered  with 
pastures  and  forests  abounding  in  life.  We  know 
something  about  the  mountain.  The  geologist 
tells  us  that  it  is  composed  of  material  which 
was  slowly  accumulated  at  the  bottom  of  some 
primeval  sea.  Age  after  age  contributed  to  its 
bulk.  Its  strata  bear  witness  to  the  life  of  the 
different  periods  of  its  formation.  Gradually  it 
was  raised  to  the  surface,  and  then  lifted  or 
crowded  to  more  than  its  present  height.  It  has 
been  hardened  by  pressure,  plowed  and  scored 
by  glaciers,  broken  by  frost,  and  polished  by 
wind  and  rain.  Very  gradually  it  has  gained  its 
present  form  and  height  from  a  very  humble  ori- 
gin.   Now  we  begin  to  understand  the  mountain. 

22 


stages  in  Human  Rvohttion 

Similarly  man  is  a  very  complex  being  with 
a  history  far  longer  than  that  of  any  mountain. 
His  organs  are  of  very  different  ages;  some  very 
old,  others  of  quite  recent  origin.  They  have 
been  formed  under  different  conditions  and  to 
meet  different  emergencies.  Could  we  know 
his  history,  we  should  understand  him  far 
better.  We  should  appreciate,  for  instance, 
the  struggle  between  the  old  and  the  new, 
the  low  and  the  higher,  the  brutal  and  the 
spiritual. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  write  a  complete  history 
of  either  his  physical  or  m_ental  evolution.  But 
certain  peculiarities  of  structure  in  higher  ani- 
mals point  so  clearly  to  earlier  and  lower  stages 
for  their  origin  that  we  may  feel  fairly  certain 
that  man  has  passed  that  way,  and  we  must 
glance  at  a  few  of  them. 

Our  sketch  naturally  falls  into  two  portions. 
First  we  must  trace  the  stages  of  development  of 
the  individual  man.  The  earlier  part  of  this 
portion  will  show  the  rise  of  almost  purely  physi- 
cal organs — stom.ach,  heart,  m-uscles,  etc.  As  we 
follow  the  evolution  of  the  body,  we  cannot  fail 
to  notice  how  the  appearance  of  more  powerful 
and  complex  and  finer  muscles,  the  swifter  loco- 

23 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evohttion 

motion,  and  more  varied  and  precise  movements, 
reacted  on  the  nervous  system,  and  especially 
the  brain,  and  stimulated  the  development  and 
rule  of  mind. 

But  man  is  a  social  being.  He  is  born  a  mem- 
ber of  a  family.  He  is  a  citizen  of  a  commu- 
nity of  some  sort — clan  or  tribe,  town  or  city. 
The  rise  and  effects  of  these  two  institutions  will 
form  the  second  topic  of  our  study.^ 

The  earliest  living  beings  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge  consisted  of  single  cells.  We 
have  seen  that  a  cell  is  composed  of  a  little  mass 
of  semifluid  living  substance  (protoplasm)  sur- 
rounding a  central,  more  consistent  body,  the 
nucleus.  The  protoplasm  of  these  lowest  ani- 
mals contracts  or  sends  out  processes;  seizes 
food,  digests  and  assimilates  it.  The  dead  mat- 
ter of  the  food  is  vivified  in  the  cells,  the  con- 
stantly recurring  miracle  of  life.  It  excretes, 
breathes,  and  seems  to  feel.  It  performs  all  the 
functions  of  all  the  organs  of  higher  animals, 
though  often  in  a  very  crude  and  rudimentary 
fashion.    Truly,  protoplasm  is  a  "  quite  peculiar 


1  See  more  detailed  study  in  Tyler,  J.  M.,  "The  Whence 
and  the  Whither  of  Man." 

24 


stages  in  Hmnan  Evolution 

juice,"  as  Mephlstopheles  said  of  blood.  But 
this  stage,  while  exceedingly  interesting,  is  of 
little  practical  importance  in  our  study.  We 
must  hasten  on  to  the  second  stage.  Here  the 
cells  have  multiplied  greatly,  and  a  certain 
amount  of  division  of  labor  has  resulted  in  dif- 
ferences in  their  structure. 

We  might  call  it  the  coelenterate  stage,  for 
all  the  animals  which  clearly  and  unmistakably 
show  its  type  of  structure  were  formerly  reck- 
oned to  this  subkingdom.  Its  typical  form  is 
seen  clearly  in  our  little  fresh-water  hydra  and 
its  allies,  less  distinctly  in  the  sea  anemones,  still 
more  modified  in  the  jellyfishes.  The  old  natu- 
ralist called  all  these  animals  zoophytes  or  plant 
animals.  The  chief  characteristic  of  this  stage 
is  that  the  animal  is  composed  of  two  layers  of 
cells  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  double-walled 
sac.  It  might  be  compared  to  a  shopping  bag 
lined  with  velvet  and  covered  with  silk,  but  with 
lining  and  covering  glued  fast  together.  Most 
animals  of  this  type  are  stationary,  but  the 
primitive  ancestor  probably  moved  by  means  of 
a  myriad  of  microscopic  oars  shaped  like  eye- 
lashes and  hence  called  cilia. 

The  opening  into  the  sac  is  the  mouth,  the 

25 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

cavity  Is  the  stomach  or  digestive  system.  A 
little  mass  of  cells  on  the  outside  of  the  animal 
forms  the  reproductive  organ.  Rude  muscular 
fibrils  occur.  The  beginnings  of  a  nervous  sys- 
tem are  seen  in  the  shape  of  a  cobweb  of  cells 
and  fibers  encompassing  the  body  between  the 
two  layers. 

The  coelenterate  has  only  two  organs  which 
are  even  fairly  well  developed,  those  of  digestion 
and  of  reproduction.  The  animal  lives  for  these 
two  functions.  They  are  absolutely  essential. 
The  digestive  system  furnishes  the  material  for 
growth,  for  the  support  and  all  needs  of  the 
body.  Reproduction  insures  the  survival  of  the 
species  and  the  possibility  of  progress.  Appar- 
ently very  little  has  been  attained.  Let  us  not 
despise  the  day  of  small  things.  The  absolutely 
essential  organs  have  been  shaped  and  tissues 
have  arisen.  There  is  the  promise  of  better 
things. 

The  third  stage  is  of  vast  extent,  and  includes 
all  animals  from  worms  to  the  highest  apes. 
We  might  call  It  the  animal  stage  to  distinguish 
It  from  the  almost  vegetative  zoophytic  stage 
which  preceded  it.  We  can  easily  divide  It  into 
several  substages,  whose  members  live  on  very 

26 


stages  in  Human  Evolution 

different  planes  of  life  and  show  very  different 
degrees  of  activity. 

The  first  substage  is  well  represented  by 
worms.  These  vary  greatly  in  form  and  struc- 
ture. The  higher  worm  is  a  cylindrical  animal, 
like  the  earthworm,  moving  with  one  end  fore- 
most. Some  day  there  will  be  a  head  at  the 
front  end.  It  has  developed  layers  of  muscles, 
and  is  using  them  for  locomotion  as  well  as  di- 
rectly for  gaining  food.  It  consists  essentially 
of  two  parallel  tubes,  one  within  the  other. 
The  outer  tube  is  the  muscular  wall  of  the  body, 
the  inner  the  intestine  running  straight  from  the 
mouth  to  the  hind  end  of  the  body.  Between 
the  intestine  and  the  body  wall  is  a  space,  the 
perivisceral  cavity,  in  which  circulatory  and  ner- 
vous and  other  systems  are  safely  packed  away. 
This  plan  of  structure  was  attained  only  after 
many  experiments  and  comparative  failures. 
But  it  proved  so  advantageous  that  it  descended 
to  and  characterized  the  trunk  of  all  higher 
animals. 

A  muscular  fiber  is  a  microscopic  engine 
which  produces  energy  by  the  oxidization  or 
combustion  of  food  material,  as  coal  must  be 
burned  in  the  fire  box  of  the  locomotive  to  make 

27 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

steam.  But  the  fire  box  needs  an  indraft  to  bring 
in  air,  and  a  flue  to  carry  off  products  of  com- 
bustion. Similarly  the  muscle  requires  an  ex- 
cretory organ  like  our  kidney  to  remove  some 
of  the  waste  and  a  means  of  gaining  oxygen. 
Gills  soon  appear.  A  muscle  contracts  only  un- 
der the  stimulus  of  a  nervous  impulse.  Hence 
the  nerve  cells  multiply  and  gather  in  groups, 
ganglia  and  cords.  The  moving  anirnal  can 
make  good  use  of  and  requires  sense  organs  for 
its  guidance,  to  perceive  its  food,  to  avoid  dan- 
ger. These  react  on  the  foremost  ganglia  of  the 
body.  They  form  a  brain.  But  a  true  brain 
or  head  was  attained  only  by  descendants  of 
worms.  A  circulatory  system  will  soon  appear 
to  hurry  food  and  oxygen  to  all  the  cells  of  the 
body  and  to  carry  off  their  waste.  To  build 
all  these  organs,  and  to  unite  them  in  one  com- 
pact and  mobile  body,  was  no  easy  problem.  It 
was  attained  slowly  and  only  after  many  com- 
parative failures. 

Worms  lifted  life  to  a  plane  far  higher  than 
that  of  coelenterates.  After  their  appearance 
only  muscular  and  seeing  forms  could  hope  to 
play  any  leading  part  in  the  world.  They  de- 
veloped weapons  of  offense  and  defense.     Life 

28 


stages  m  Hitman  Evolution 

became  harder,  the  struggle  more  severe,  com- 
petition more  marked  and  harsh.  A  strong, 
tough,  agile,  alert  body  was  to  be  developed. 
Worms  led  the  way  toward  this.  But  they  had 
only  begun  to  utilize  and  realize  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  muscular  system.  As  soon  as  this  and 
the  visceral  organs  needed  for  its  support  and 
service  had  been  fairly  started,  the  worm  be- 
gan to  experiment  in  building  a  skeleton.  Three 
forms  of  skeleton  are  possible. 

First  comes  the  external  skeleton  used  by  mol- 
lusks  and  other  animals  as  a  means  of  protec- 
tion. The  shells  of  snails  and  clams  are  good 
illustrations.  Second,  there  Is  the  external  loco- 
motive skeleton,  a  framework  for  the  attach- 
ment of  muscles  which  move  the  jointed  levers 
of  the  legs.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  horny 
covering  of  insects.  It  is  really,  while  somewhat 
protective,  a  passive  organ  of  locomotion.  In 
the  lobster  and  many  crabs  it  becomes  so  heavy 
as  to  hinder  locomotion  and  to  be  largely  pro- 
tective. The  third  form  is  the  internal  skeleton 
used  originally  almost  entirely  for  locomotion. 
This  is  illustrated  by  our  backbone.  Ribs  and 
cranium  are  protective  structures  of  later  origin. 
Many  vertebrates,  turtles  and  armadillos,  have 

29 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evoltttion 

a  protective  skeleton  also.  Some  mollusks  re- 
duced or  cast  off  the  shell.  Each  form  of  skele- 
ton was  an  experiment  by  Itself.  Each  was  tried 
with  a  great  variety  of  modifications.  The  ex- 
periments were  extensive  and  exhaustive.  Every 
line  was  made  or  marred  by  the  skeleton  which 
it  developed. 

The  only  completely  successful  experiment 
proved  to  be  that  of  vertebrates.  Every  other 
form  of  skeleton  had  some  fatal  defect.  The 
extreme  logical  result  of  molluscan  development 
is  shown  by  the  clam.  He  developed  a  bivalve 
shell  and  burrowed  in  the  mud.  He  thus  gained 
almost  complete  protection  from  his  enemies, 
abundant  food,  rapid  increase  in  numbers,  and 
nearly  unchanging  surroundings.  Having  once 
adapted  himself  to  the  mud,  further  develop- 
ment was  entirely  useless.  But  the  shell  ham- 
pered or  prevented  locomotion,  made  most  of 
the  senses  unnecessary,  stopped  the  development 
of  muscle  and  nerve,  and  made  further  progress 
Impossible.  Amid  all  the  changes  of  the  vast 
geological  periods  the  clam  has  slumbered  peace- 
fully in  inexpressible  comfort. 

The  external  locomotive  skeleton  of  the  insect 
favors  muscular  and  nervous  development.     In- 

30 


stages  in  HMman  Evolution 


sects  move  swiftly  and  have  good  Instincts, 
though  lacking  in  intelligence.  The  skeleton  is 
exactly  suited  to  the  needs  of  small  animals. 
Very  few  of  its  possessors  have  attained  any- 
thing like  large  size. 

The  internal  skeleton  was  at  first  a  rod  of 
cartilage  running  along  the  back  or  near  the 
dorsal  surface  of  some  primitive  fish.  This  was 
later  replaced  by  a  backbone.  The  muscles 
formed  two  great  masses  on  its  right  and  left 
sides.  They  propel  the  body  swiftly  through  the 
water  by  vigorous  sweeps  of  the  tail.  More  fuel 
and  oxygen  were  needed,  hence  the  digestive  and 
respiratory  system  were  improved  through  vig- 
orous exercise.  More  waste  was  produced  and 
the  kidneys  became  more  complex  to  meet  the 
emergency.  The  blood  flowed  more  swiftly  to 
carry  oxygen  and  food  to  all  the  organs  and  to 
remove  their  waste.  A  powerful  sacklike  heart 
with  thick  muscular  walls  arose.  Complex  eyes 
and  ears  result  from  the  adaptation  of  the  body 
to  swifter  locomotion.  The  brain  enlarged  rap- 
idly and  became  far  more  complex  and  effective. 
There  is  little  or  no  thinking,  but  much  per- 
ception and  action.  Only  the  most  vigorous, 
powerful,  alert,  and  agile  can  win  the  prizes  of 

31 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

life.  Muscular  locomotion  is  the  dominating 
element  in  the  life  of  the  animal.  But  this  is 
pulling  the  lower  visceral  organs  and  spurring 
the  brain  to  a  far  higher  stage  of  development 
and  efficiency. 

The  lower  stages  of  life  were  primitively  all 
aquatic,  though  a  few  worms  now  live  in  damp 
earth.  Some  ancient  ganoid  fish  began  breath- 
ing air  directly  into  a  lung,  jointed  legs  replaced 
the  fins,  and  the  first  amphibian  emerged  on 
land.  A  new  mode  of  locomotion  had  to  be 
acquired.  The  legs  were  weak,  the  backbone 
incompletely  developed.  The  animal  must  have 
looked  helpless  and  unpromising.  Slowly 
through  a  vast  succession  of  generations  of  am- 
phibia and  reptiles  the  legs  strengthened  suf- 
'ficiently  to  support  the  body.  The  writhing 
form  learned  to  walk  and  then  to  run.  The  legs 
strengthened  and  lengthened  and  it  ran  faster. 

More  rapid  locomotion  on  the  land  and  in  the 
air  made  larger  demands  on  the  internal  organs. 
Heart  and  lungs  enlarged  and  improved.  More 
oxygen  was  gained,  more  fuel  was  burned,  and 
more  heat  produced  by  the  increased  exercise. 
The  heat  radiated  less  rapidly  from  the  larger 
body  into  the  less  conducting  air.     The  tem- 

32 


Stages  in  HMman  Rvohition 

perature  of  the  body  rose.  This  Increased  the 
vigor  of  every  function,  but  Its  effect  Is  most 
marked  In  the  sensitive  unstable  material  of  the 
brain.  The  warm-blooded  animal,  moving 
swiftly  through  changing  surroundings,  began 
to  think.  I  suspect  that  the  dawn  of  Intelligence 
came  far  earlier,  but  In  birds  and  mammals  It  Is 
evident  and  unmistakable. 

Our  history  of  the  contributions  made  by 
lower  and  earlier  vertebrates  to  human  structure 
has  been  far  too  brief.  Its  brevity  must  not 
blind  us  to  the  Importance  and  value  of  their 
attainments.  A  tough,  vigorous,  flexible,  com- 
plex, and  adaptable  body  was  being  framed,  a 
body  which  could  endure  rigorous  hardships  and 
severe  wounds,  and  which  with  a  few  modifica- 
tions and  additions  could  respond  to  all  the  de- 
mands and  execute  the  orders  of  a  thinking 
brain. 

Such  changes  and  attainments  could  not  be 
made  In  a  day.  They  lasted  through  the  earlier 
geological  periods,  when  time  was  reckoned  by 
mlllenia  or  ages  rather  than  by  years. 

Protozoa  were  microscopic,  worms  were  small, 
the  ancestral  amphibians  and  reptiles  were  prob- 
ably smaller  than  the  average  of  their  descend- 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 

ants.  This  seems  to  be  the  rule.  But  they  were 
probably  larger  than  their  invertebrate  prede- 
cessors, and  were  gaining  in  size.  With  the  in- 
crease in  size  came  the  increase  in  length  of  life. 
How  early  this  became  marked  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing.  But  mammals  generally  live 
for  several  or  many  years.  The  hairy  or  fur- 
clad  mammal  can  endure  quite  marked  changes 
of  temperature.  He  was  pelted  and  buffeted 
with  impressions  from  the  outer  world.  He  met 
new,  oft-recurring,  and  often  trying  experiences. 
The  lesson  was  repeated  day  by  day,  week  after 
week,  and  year  after  year.  Nature  taught  and 
educated  him  by  hard  experience,  and  by  experi- 
ence he  became  keen  and  alert.  Instinct  might 
suffice  for  the  short-lived  insect,  but  the  mammal 
was  to  be  intelligent. 

The  process  of  education  lasted  long,  and 
progress  was  probably  slow  and  often  discour- 
aging. Professor  Osborn  tells  us  that  a  whole 
fauna  of  mammals  in  early  tertiary  times  became 
extinct,  apparently  because  their  bodies  outgrew 
their  brains.  Food  was  abundant  and  dangers 
were  few  for  these  great  beasts.  In  this  primi- 
tive Eden  of  ease  and  peace,  prosperity  bred 
idiocy.     But  such  easy  fortune  was  not  the  lot 

34 


Stages  hi  Hmnan  Evolution 

of  most  mammals.  They  were  taught  by  hard- 
ship and  danger  and  spurred  by  necessity. 

The  eadlest  mammals  were  somewhat  short- 
legged,  and  brought  the  heel  to  the  ground  when 
they  walked,  as  we  do  now.  The  brain  was  still 
small  compared  with  that  of  later  forms.  But 
the  respiratory  surface  of  the  lining  of  the  lungs 
was  very  large,  supplying  plenty  of  oxygen.  The 
lung  capacity  is  the  best  test  of  the  power  of  an 
animal,  as  of  the  proficiency  of  a  child.  The 
muscles,  though  heavy,  were  powerful.  The 
animal  was  still  somewhat  below  medium  size. 

Most  of  them  seem  to  have  lived  on  the 
ground,  but  our  ancestors  took  to  the  trees, 
tempted  by  food  or  encouraged  to  climb  by 
stronger  enemies.  While  they  remained  small 
they  could  probably  run  along  the  branches  like 
squirrels.  But  as  they  increased  In  size,  the  hind 
legs  were  used  to  support  and  push  the  body,  the 
forelegs  to  grasp  and  pull.  This  difference 
in  use  gradually  brought  about  the  difference  In 
structure  between  hand  and  foot.  The  fingers 
became  longer  and  freer  than  the  toes,  the  thumb 
more  independent  and  opposable.  Thus  the  ar- 
boreal life  of  our  ancestors  gave  us  our  hands 
and  fingers,  our  means  of  grasping  and  of  using 

4  35 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


tools.  The  use  of  the  legs  for  pushing  and  of 
the  arms  for  pulling  accustomed  the  ape  to  a 
more  nearly  upright  position.^ 

Our  muscular  system  is  composed  of  parts  or 
successive  additions  which  are  of  very  different 
age  and  origin.  The  muscles  of  our  trunk  are 
inherited  from  the  tubular  body  wall  of  worms. 
Shoulder  and  thigh  muscles  were  developed  by 
fish  to  move  the  fins.  Arms  and  legs  grew 
stronger  through  a  long  series  of  generations  of 
amphibia  and  reptiles.  Hands  and  fingers  were 
developed  by  arboreal  mammals.  They  mature 
in  the  same  order  in  the  human  child  to-day. 
Our  muscles  grow  younger  as  we  pass  from  the 
trunk  outward  to  the  fingers  or  downward  to 
the  toes.  The  muscles  of  the  neck  are  very  old. 
Those  of  the  jaws  are  younger,  those  of  tongue 
and  lips  and  the  muscles  of  expression  in  our 
face  are  younger  still. 

Hence  physiologists  distinguish  between  cen- 
tral muscles  of  the  trunk  and  peripheral  muscles 
of  the  wrist,  and  especially  of  the  fingers.  The 
muscles  of  the  arm  are  central  when  viewed  in 


^  See  Heineman,  T.  W.,  "Psychic  and  Economic  Results 
of  Man's  Physical  Uprightness." 

36 


stages  hi  Human  Evolution 

their  relation  to  the  hand,  but  peripheral  rela- 
tively to  the  trunk.  ^ 

We  usually  begin  any  action  or  series  of  move- 
ments with  central  muscles  and  complete  it  with 
peripheral,  so  in  picking  up  a  pin  from  the  floor 
or  going  to  the  table  for  a  pencil.  Hence  cen- 
tral muscles  have  been  called  fundamental  and 
peripheral  muscles  accessory  by  some  writers. 
In  fundamental  movements  of  central  muscles  a 
little  nervous  energy  suffices  to  stimulate  and 
direct  a  large  amount  of  muscular  movement. 
In  the  use  of  the  accessory  muscles  of  the  fingers 
the  opposite  is  true  In  both  respects. 

Our  trunk  muscles  are  capable  of  but  few 
simple  movements,  and  these  neither  free  nor 
precise.  Freedom,  complexity,  and  precision  of 
movement  Increases  as  we  pass  from  trunk  to 
hand,  and  culminates  In  the  fingers. 

The  centers  In  the  brain  which  control  these 
muscles  show  the  same  succession  In  age,  and 
differ  correspondingly  In  structure.  A  few  large 
and  powerful  cells  will  suffice  for  the  control  of 
the  trunk  muscles.  Centers  controlling  the  fin- 
gers must  contain  many  cells  with  very  complex 

^  See  Bibliography. 

37 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

connections.  As  time  goes  on  new  centers  are 
continually  arising  in  the  brain.  These  are 
more  complex,  finer,  capable  of  higher  action 
and  of  nobler  uses.  Slowly  and  gradually  in  the 
range  of  actions  peculiar  to  man  nervous  energy 
is  playing  a  larger  role,  while  muscular  power, 
though  important  or  essential,  becomes  of  sec- 
ondary value.  The  athlete  is  a  man  of  nerve. 
Our  weariness  and  lack  of  endurance  is  far  more 
of  the  nervous  than  of  the  muscular  system. 

Late  in  tertiary  times  primitive  man  or  his 
anthropoid  ancestor  forsook  the  trees  and  lived 
upon  the  ground.  His  legs  lengthened  to  give 
a  longer  stride.  His  trunk  and  arms  became 
relatively  shorter.  His  whole  body  became 
more  finely  molded  and  better  fitted  for  higher 
ends.  The  center  and  main  scene  of  evolution 
was  shifted  from  the  muscle  to  the  brain,  from 
the  body  to  the  mind.  It  is  hardly  correct  to 
speak  of  any  arrest  of  the  body  as  far  as  evolu- 
tion is  concerned.  Muscles  may  not  be  increas- 
ing in  bulk.  But  brain  and  mind  are  reacting 
upon  bone  and  muscle  and  subduing  and  mold- 
ing them  to  their  own  mental  ends.  They  are 
making  the  body  a  fitter  expression  of  the  higher 
mental  life.     The  body  is  becoming  an  expres- 

38 


stages  in  Human  Evolntion 

sion  of  thought.  Muscles  of  speech  and  ex- 
pression are  more  effective  and  really  more 
powerful  than  those  of  back  and  legs.  The 
postpliocene  or  quaternary  age  is  the  era  of  mind. 

The  lower  animal  has  a  very  limited  range  of 
environment.  It  moves  but  a  little  distance  and 
becomes  acquainted  with  but  few  objects  or 
forces.  The  higher  animals  range  over  a  wide 
territory  and  learn  finer  shades  of  difference  be- 
tween a  host  of  objects.  Man's  home  is  the 
world  or  the  universe,  and  he  is  interested  in  all 
its  features.  The  animal  learns  the  relation  be- 
tween a  few  important  objects  and  himself. 
Man  is  interested  in  the  relation  of  objects  to 
one  another,  even  when  the  relation  to  himself 
Is  dim  and  remote. 

Finally  animals,  either  consciously  or  by  a 
blind  Instinct,  make  some  provision  for  the  fu- 
ture. Migrations  take  place  or  food  is  stored 
up  against  the  approach  of  winter.  These  pro- 
visions are  more  numerous  than  we  suspect.  But 
they  generally  affect  a  future  almost  immediate 
or  near  at  hand.  Only  as  man  searches  far  back 
Into  the  past  experience  or  history  of  his  family 
or  nation  does  he  begin  to  peer  into  the  remote 
future  and  to  prepare  for  its  opportunities  and 

39 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

emergencies.  Thus  in  many  respects  the  animal 
mind  is  a  crude  type  or  dim  prophecy  of  the 
human. 

Said  Professor  Huxley :  "  Man  now  stands  as 
on  a  mountain  top  far  above  the  level  of  his 
humble  fellows,  and  transfigured  from  his  grosser 
nature  by  reflecting  here  and  there  a  ray  from 
the  infinite  source  of  truth.  And  thoughtful 
man,  once  escaped  from  the  blinding  influences 
of  traditional  prejudice,  will  find  in  the  lowly 
stock  whence  man  has  sprung  the  best  evidence 
of  the  splendor  of  his  capacities,  and  will  dis- 
cern in  his  long  progress  through  the  past  a 
reasonable  ground  of  faith  in  his  attainment  of 
a  nobler  future."  ^ 

The  lofty  plane  of  life  on  which  man  lives 
and  moves  is  the  result  of  his  higher  intellectual 
as  well  as  of  his  moral  and  religious  instincts, 
thoughts,  purposes,  and  powers.  His  higher 
intellectual  and  his  moral  powers  are  evidently 
due  to  the  fact  that  he  is  a  social  being  living  in 
some  sort  of  family  life.  Our  first  question  is: 
Are  family  and  society  artificial  and  conscious 
human  inventions,  as  it  were?  This  question 
will  occupy  us  in  the  next  chapter. 

1  Huxley,  T.  H.,  "Man's  Place  in  Nature."  Chap.  11. 

40 


CHAPTER    III 

FAMILY   AND   SOCIETY 

THE  lofty  plane  of  life  on  which  man 
lives  and  moves  is  the  result  of  his 
higher  intellectual,  as  well  as  his  moral 
and  religious  instincts,  thoughts,  purposes,  and 
powers.  His  higher  intellectual  and  moral  pow- 
ers are  evidently  due  to  the  fact  that  he  is  a 
social  being  living  in  some  sort  of  family  life. 
Our  first  question  is :  Are  family  and  society  arti- 
ficial and  conscious  human  inventions,  as  it  were? 
Or  are  they  rooted  deep  in  his  very  structure,  to 
a  certain  extent  necessary  results  of  his  constitu- 
tion, products  of  an  evolution  which  was  urged 
or  forced  upon  him  by  conditions  outside  of  his 
choice  or  knowledge? 

Two  sets  of  forces  or  streams  of  tendency 
have  united  to  produce  these  two  great  human 
institutions  and  to  give  them  their  present  form. 
One  of  these  is  at  first  purely  physiological,  the 
other  the  result  of  an  instinct  or  feeling.     We 

41 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

must  trace  their  quite  distinct  origin,  and  then 
we  can  appreciate  their  great  power  when 
united. 

The  amount  which  any  animal  can  devote  to 
reproduction  is  the  balance  left  after  the  needs 
of  the  body  for  repair  and  fuel  have  been  met. 
Our  muscular  and  nervous  engines  consume  a 
large  amount  of  the  food  which  we  can  digest. 
The  balance  is  very  large  In  the  stationary  or 
sessile  animal,  smaller  in  the  sluggish,  greatly 
diminished  in  the  active.  It  is  greater  in  small 
animals  than  in  large  ones.  Vertebrates  are 
large  and  active,  and  mammals  and  birds  are  the 
most  active  of  all  vertebrates.  The  evolution 
of  the  muscular  system,  while  increasing  the  sup- 
ply of  food,  has  greatly  decreased  the  balance 
left  for  reproduction. 

While  the  amount  which  can  be  devoted  to 
reproduction  has  steadily  decreased,  the  amount 
required  to  produce  a  new  individual  has  In- 
creased just  as  steadily.  Every  egg  must  contain 
enough  nutriment  to  build  and  develop  an  in- 
dividual capable  of  taking  and  digesting  food 
and  of  further  growth.  To  build  a  sponge  or 
a  hydra  requires  very  little.  A  worm  Is  more 
expensive.    A  fish  costs  even  more.    The  frog's 

42 


Family  and  Society 


egg  may  have  a  diameter  ten  times  as  great  as 
that  of  a  certain  fish;  It  should  contain  one  thou- 
sand times  as  much  material.  The  egg  of  a  bird 
contains  from  one  hundred  to  one  thousand  times 
as  much  food  as  a  frog's  egg. 

If  the  amount  of  material  which  the  animal 
can  put  Into  eggs  Is  rapidly  diminishing,  and  the 
amount  required  for  every  egg  Is  Increasing,  the 
number  of  eggs  must  be  lessening  rapidly.  We 
may  say  roughly  that  for  every  egg  produced  by 
a  bird,  the  reptile  produces  ten,  the  frog  fifty  or 
more,  and  fishes  from  one  hundred  to  ten  thou- 
sand. 

This  diminution  in  the  number  of  eggs,  while 
unavoidable.  Is  a  very  serious  danger  to  the  sur- 
vival of  the  species.  It  greatly  diminishes  the 
chances  of  favorable  variations.  If  It  goes  too 
far,  the  number  of  Individuals  In  successive  gen- 
erations win  steadily  diminish  until  the  species 
becomes  extinct.  The  fish  can  survive  even  If 
a  large  share  of  Its  eggs  are  eaten  by  other  ani- 
mals; not  so  the  bird  or  mammal.  Every  egg 
Is  of  great  value.  Eggs  and  young  must  be 
guarded  and  cared  for.  Hence  the  nesting  hab- 
its of  birds  and  the  Intrauterine  development  of 
all  mammals  except  the  very  lowest  are  a  physlo- 

43 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

logical  necessity.  Hence  many  reptiles  and  some 
amphibia  and  fish  have  become  viviparous,  pro- 
ducing living  young.  The  young  mammal  must 
be  protected,  fed,  and  tended  by  the  mother. 
The  higher  the  mammal  the  longer  the  period 
of  dependence  of  the  young.  After  a  time  the 
male  begins  to  protect  and  cooperate  with  the 
female,  and  aids  her  in  gaining  food.  In  many 
species  of  mammals  the  male  takes  no  such  share 
in  the  care  of  the  young,  in  others  they  cooperate 
during  only  a  small  part  of  the  year.  Birds  of 
prey  mate  for  life. 

The  anthropoid  apes  have  a  long  period  of 
pregnancy,  and  the  young  have  their  infancy  and 
childhood.  Here  the  protection  and  coopera- 
tion of  the  male  is  needed  continuously.  With- 
out it  the  species  would  probably  have  become 
extinct  long  ago.  Thus  a  rude  form  of  family 
life  is  an  absolute  necessity  imposed  upon  the 
animal  by  the  higher  development  of  its  mus- 
cular and  nervous  systems.  The  development  of 
the  family  from  this  standpoint  has  been  well 
treated  by  Mr.  Fiske  and  Mr.  Drummond.^ 


1  Fiske,  J.,  "Destiny  of  Man";  Drummond,  H.,  "Ascent 
of  Man." 

44 


Family  and  Society 


If  food  is  very  scarce  and  hard  to  obtain,  the 
families  will  probably  scatter  and  live  singly. 
But  In  most  cases  the  separation  will  not  be 
complete  and  permanent.  Clusters  of  families 
will  form  a  small  clan,  and  these  clans  will 
gather  in  tribes.  In  one  way  or  another  social 
life  is  almost  sure  to  follow  the  rise  of  the  fam- 
ily as  its  original  constituent  element. 

Kropotkin  ^  and  others  have  shown  that  social 
life  can  originate  without  the  family  as  Its  basis 
and  unit  of  organization.  The  fact  of  a  gre- 
garious instinct  In  animals  is  undoubted.  This 
instinct  is  far  older  than  the  comparatively  mod- 
ern family  institution.  Fish  seek  their  spawn- 
ing grounds  In  vast  shoals.  Seals  and  porpoises 
are  found  in  groups.  Birds  flock  and  mammals 
herd.  The  flock  or  herd  is  an  Invaluable  means 
of  mutual  aid  and  protection,  as  Kropotkin  has 
shown.  Many  weaker  mammals  probably  owe 
their  survival  to  this  instinct  or  habit.  It  Is  very 
well  marked  In  monkeys,  and  generally  through- 
out the  order  of  primates. 

Hence  some  writers  think  that  human  beings 
first  gathered   In  hordes  of  men,   women,   and 

1  Kropotkin,  P.,  "Mutual  Aid  a  Factor  in  Evolution." 

45 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

children,  and  that  family  life  was  of  later  ori- 
gin. Westermarck  ^  has  brought  very  strong 
arguments  against  this  view.  It  is  very  strange, 
when  something  closely  approaching  family  life 
had  been  attained  by  anthropoid  apes,  and  prob- 
ably characterized  our  prehuman  anthropoid 
ancestors,  that  this  most  valuable  or  essential 
human  institution  should  have  lapsed  or  been 
suppressed  during  man's  early  history.  The 
horde,  where  still  occurring,  seems  more  likely 
to  be  degenerative  than  primitive. 

In  all  higher  stages  of  civilization  we  find 
family  and  social  life  both  existing.  In  some 
times  and  nations  more  emphasis  is  laid  on  the 
family,  in  others  more  on  society.  Both  insti- 
tutions are  essential  to  social  health  and  well- 
being.  In  the  most  successful  and  progressive 
tribes,  especially  In  our  Aryan  civilization,  a 
sound  family  life  has  been  the  basis  of  society. 
Both  must  be  perfected  and  adjusted  In  that 
higher  civilization  which  is  slowly  evolving. 
We  may  safely  consider  both  these  institutions  as 
permanent  and  exceedingly  effective  elements  in 
human  evolution. 


Westermarck,  "History  of  Human  Marriage. 

46 


Family  and  Society 


The  advantages  of  family  life  are  so  many 
that  we  have  no  time  to  mention  more  than  a 
few,  and  so  clear  that  a  long  study  is  unneces- 
sary. The  children  are  insured  food,  shelter, 
and  protection;  healthy  growth,  and  physical 
well-being.  The  child  has  the  advantage  of  all 
the  experience  of  his  parents,  and  of  many  gen- 
erations of  his  ancestors,  as  this  experience  is 
handed  down  by  tradition.  The  use  of  articu- 
late speech  and  language  broadened  and  clarified 
human  thought  and  conception.  Most  impor- 
tant of  all,  in  the  close  bond  of  the  family  mu- 
tual competition  is  replaced  by  mutual  helpful- 
ness. A  large  amount  of  energy  which  had  been 
worse  than  wasted  is  now  utilized  for  the  com- 
mon good. 

Natural  selection  is  not  prevented  by  the  fam- 
ily; probably  its  effectiveness  is  little,  if  any,  de- 
creased. But  the  mode  and  final  result  of  the 
process  are  greatly  changed.  Always  in  the 
end  only  healthy  individuals  can  survive.  The 
better  conformed  to  environment  will  have  a 
great  advantage.  But  there  will  be  a  selection 
of  families  as  well  as  of  individuals.  The  most 
firmly  united  and  best  regulated  families  will 
In  the  end  outlast  and  "  outpopulate  "  Inferior 

47 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

ones.  Mutual  service  in  the  family  begets  mu- 
tual love  and  a  host  of  fireside  and  homespun 
virtues.  Control,  forgetfulness,  and  sacrifice  of 
self  train  and  strengthen  heart  and  will.  The 
fundamental  and  essential  moral  and  intellectual 
training  and  progress  are,  and  must  always  be, 
the  work  of  the  family. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  appreciate  the  debt 
which  we  owe  to  society,  for  we  can  no  longer 
imagine  what  life  would  be  without  it.  Of  much 
of  its  influence  and  power  we  are  as  unconscious 
as  of  gravitation  or  of  atmospheric  pressure. 
We  must  try  to  imagine  life  without  govern- 
ment, laws,  or  any  form  of  fixed  regulations. 
Who  is  to  keep  peace  between  squabbling  fami- 
lies and  individuals,  not  yet  powerful  or  skillful 
enough  to  wage  real  warfare?  Has  any  man 
any  rights  except  what  he  can  maintain  for  him- 
self— Faiistrechtl  If  there  were  any  rights 
could  anyone  be  compelled  to  respect  them? 
How  is  it  possible  to  hold  people  together  long 
enough  and  closely  enough  so  that  law  and  gov- 
ernment can  arise? 

Man's  ancestors  had  been  social  or  gregarious 
animals.  There  was  a  fellow-feeling,  an  instinct 
to  keep  together.     During  this  long  period  of 

48 


Family  and  Society 


gregarious  or  social  life  usages  and  customs  had 
arisen.  No  reason  for  these  was  ever  asked,  but 
they  were  the  raw  material  out  of  which  laws 
and  Institutions  were  made,  or  the  germs  from 
which  these  blessings  sprang. 

In  the  Aryan  tribe  community  of  descent,  real 
or  fictitious,  was  the  bond  of  membership.  Evi- 
dently the  family,  whatever  its  origin  or  charac- 
ter, was  a  unit  or  conception  of  great  power. 
The  clan  government  must  control  the  family, 
as  the  family  controls  Its  Individual  members. 
It  may  be  very  rude  or  tyrannical.  It  must  be 
strong  and  firm.  Despotism  was  far  better  than 
anarchy. 

The  savage  has  not  one  tenth  of  the  freedom 
which  we  enjoy.  He  has  very  little  which  he 
can  call  his  own.  Property  and  ownership  are 
modern  ideas.  His  actions  are  trammeled  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways,  which  seem  to  us  unneces- 
sary and  ridiculous.  The  laws  to  which  he 
must  render  obedience  seem  often  unreasonable. 
Above  all  Is  the  terrible  pressure  of  usage  and 
custom.  Everything  must  be  done  as  it  always 
has  been.  And  this  tyranny  and  despotism  were 
absolutely  necessary  to  hold  men  together  until 
society  could  gain  form  and  cohesion.     It  was 

49 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


an  essential  stage  of  preparation  for  the  free- 
dom which  we  enjoy. 

A  second  characteristic  of  primitive  society  Is 
the  widespread,  If  not  universal,  Idea  of  tribal 
responsibility  for  the  offense  of  any  and  every 
member.  When  Achan  sinned,  all  Israel  suf- 
fered without  a  murmur.  When  Agamemnon 
had  offended  the  priest  of  Apollo,  the  Greeks 
died  under  the  arrows  of  the  god.  Tribal  reli- 
gion and  morality  consisted  mainly  In  observing 
a  host  of  customs  and  ceremonies.  It  was  very 
easy  to  sin  against  the  gods.  The  very  existence 
of  the  tribe  depended  upon  the  strictness  of  Its 
discipline.  Held  together  and  apart  from  others 
by  community  of  descent,  custom,  thought,  ac- 
tion, and  religion,  the  tribe  moved  on  In  lock- 
step. 

Individuals  had  to  learn  to  live  and  get  on 
with  one  another.  The  man  who  could  not  or 
would  not  conform  was  outlawed,  and  outlawry 
was  worse  than  quick  death.  Each  man  under 
such  conditions  finds  that  he  must  do  certain 
things  for  others,  and  that  he  can  claim  certain 
things  from  them.  If  his  fellow  is  in  difficulty 
or  danger  he  must  help  and  defend  him.  In 
times  of  scarcity  he  must  share  his  little  hoard 

50 


Family  and  Society 


of  food  with  others.  In  time  of  war  he  may 
prefer  to  remain  at  home.  He  goes.  His  own 
wishes  and  preferences  make  Httle  difference. 
He  learns  what  he  can  claim  and  what  he 
owes.  Thus  he  comes  to  recognize  rights  and 
duties,  though  he  may  never  use  the  words  or 
frame  any  conception  of  their  meaning  in  the 
abstract. 

Man  as  a  social  being  is  very  ready  to  accept 
the  estimate  placed  upon  his  actions  by  his  fel- 
lows. It  Is  not  easy  to  resist  public  opinion  now. 
It  must  have  been  almost  impossible  In  that 
primitive  army  which  summarily  outlawed  or 
killed  the  obstinately  disobedient.  This  feeling 
tended  to  develop  a  conscience  in  the  Individual 
answering  to  the  needs,  estimates,  customs,  and 
regulations  of  the  community. 

The  primitive  religion  was  a  tribal  religion. 
The  gods  felt  toward  a  man  just  as  his  neigh- 
bors did.  God  was  always  on  the  side  of  cus- 
tom and  tribal  opinion.  A  public  opinion  of  this 
sort  Is  irresistible,  and  a  man's  conscience  and 
estimate  of  himself  and  of  his  actions  must  con- 
form to  it.  This  does  not  explain  the  origin 
of  man's  conception  of  right;  perhaps  it  presup- 
poses such  a  conception  In  some  dim  form.     But, 

5  51 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

given  such  a  dim  conception,  I  believe  that 
primitive  human  society  gave  it  its  iron  grip  on 
every  fiber  of  man's  nature. 

This  old  tribal  education,  necessary  and  benef- 
icent as  it  was,  had  its  dangers,  as  Bagehot  has 
shown. ^  It  was  the  relentless  foe  of  individual- 
ity, originality,  and  hence  of  progress.  Even 
the  slightest  and  most  beneficent  changes  might 
call  down  the  anger  of  the  gods.  Progress 
stopped  in  many  Oriental  nations.  Everywhere 
it  had  to  be  exceedingly  slow  and  gradual.  Edu- 
cation into  liberty  cannot  be  accomplished  in  a 
day  or  generation,  otherwise  the  inestimable 
benefits  of  tribal  education  will  be  lost  and  an- 
archy will  return. 

In  Israel  the  progressive  prophet  faced  the 
conservative  priest.  In  Germany,  Greece,  and 
Rome  the  people  seem  to  have  always  had  a 
voice  in  the  government.  The  crust  of  custom, 
to  borrow  Bagehot's  phrase,  had  to  yield  to  this 
pressure.  Individual  rights  were  finally  empha- 
sized as  much  as  individual  duties.  This  tend- 
ency is  now  so  strong  that  we  need  to  be  re- 
minded of  the  warning  of  the  great   German 


1  Bagehot,  W.,  "  Physics  and  Politics.' 

52 


Family  and  Society 


thinker  who  said:  "You  can  never  build  a 
strong  and  permanent  institution  or  movement 
on  privileges,  but  only  on  duties.  Not  what 
men  receive,  but  what  they  give,  makes  them 
strong  and  truly  rich."  Thus  modern  govern- 
ment and  society  slowly  evolved. 

Human  social  evolution  has  hardly  more  than 
begun.  The  great  advantage  of  family  life  is 
that  each  member  contributes  what  another 
lacks,  and  thus  all  are  benefited  by  the  partner- 
ship. Society  must  realize  and  utilize  to  the 
full  all  the  possibilities  of  the  individual  and  the 
family.  They  must  enjoy  as  far  as  possible 
equal  and  full  opportunity  to  completely  develop 
their  best  powers  and  capacities,  and  thus  to  con- 
tribute as  much  as  possible  to  the  common  wel- 
fare. 

Every  individual  and  family  can  enjoy  full 
freedom  of  opportunity  only  in  so  far  as  this 
does  not  interfere  with  the  equal  rights  of 
neighbors.  The  family  has  succeeded  in  re- 
placing mutual  competition  by  mutual  helpful- 
ness. Society  Is  a  means  of  accomplishing  the 
same  result  between  families  and  classes.  Here 
the  problem  becomes  more  difficult.  The  family 
is  more  powerful  and  harder  to  control.     It  far 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

outlasts  the  life  of  the  individual.  The  parent 
finds  in  his  children  a  stronger  motive  to  amass, 
concentrate,  and  hold  wealth  than  in  his  own  in- 
dividual ambitions.  Hence  the  socialist  often 
attacks  the  family  institution  as  the  great  source 
of  injustice  and  inequality.  Still  the  family  is 
the  basis  and  bulwark  of  society.  Mutual  un- 
derstanding and  sympathy  between  classes  is 
evidently  the  first  step  toward  mutual  help 
and  support.  But  progress  and  change  will 
be  slow. 

The  social  body  or  community  Is  at  first  very 
small — a  neighborhood,  village,  or  town.  All 
outsiders  are  barbarians.  It  enlarges  into  clan, 
tribe,  and  nation.  As  it  enlarges,  it  is  in  great 
danger  of  losing  its  unity  and  solidarity.  Classes 
or  castes,  associations,  aristocracies,  plutocracies, 
or  hierarchies  arise  and  flourish.  It  is  in  danger 
of  neglecting  its  unfortunates  and  derelicts  until 
they  spread  disease  and  decay  throughout  its 
body. 

Nations  are  slowly  discovering  that  war, 
whether  by  tariff  or  guns,  is  expensive  and  bur- 
densome. They  would  gladly  do  away  with  it. 
They  are  slowly  discovering  that  the  wealth  of 
any  nation   enriches   instead   of   impoverishing 

54 


Family  and  Society 


the  rest.  The  brotherhood  of  nations  is  no 
more  difficult  or  impossible  to-day  than  was 
the  union  of  clans  or  tribes  some  thousand 
years  ago.  * 

Society  does  not  neglect  the  physical  welfare 
of  its  members,  but  it  is  largely  a  means  of  men- 
tal progress  and  evolution.  Even  intellectual 
development  is  less  important  than  moral  and 
religious.  The  latter  have  always  accompanied 
one  another  in  the  evolution  of  any  healthy  so- 
ciety or  civilization.  They  promote  freedom  by 
inculcating  respect  for  law,  and  show  that  "  per- 
fect liberty  is  perfect  obedience  to  perfect  law." 
The  only  sure  and  lasting  foundations  are  virtue 
and  righteousness. 

Whatever  the  future  may  have  in  store  for 
us,  these  great  social  or  popular  movements  and 
tendencies  will  never  be  arrested  until  some- 
thing has  been  attained  far  higher  and  better 
than  our  present  conditions,  hopes,  or  dreams. 
Evolution  will  not  cease,  and  it  will  work  toward 
higher  and  grander  ends.  Its  aim  will  be  the 
expression  and  the  realization  of  the  highest 
ideals  and  deepest  and  most  complete  physical, 
mental,  moral,  and  religious  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple.    We  do  not  know  the  form  or  constitution 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

of  the  future  government.  We  hear  of  the 
Family  of  nations  and  the  Brotherhood  of  man. 
It  will  be  all  this,  and  something  more.  Perhaps 
the  old  prophet  had  the  clearest  vision  of  the 
future  when  he  foretold  a  kingdom  of  God,  a 
kingdom  of  universal  righteousness,  joy  and 
peace. 

We  have  seen  clearly  that  the  evolution  of 
man  has  been  by  a  series  of  advances  from  lower 
planes  of  life  to  higher.  The  zoophyte  lived  to 
eat  and  reproduce.  The  worm  crawls,  the  fish 
swims,  the  reptile  has  emerged  on  land,  has 
gained  freer  movement  and  broader  life.  Mam- 
mals point  toward  social  and  family  life. 

Finally  man  advances  through  stage  after 
stage  of  savagery  and  barbarism  to  civilization, 
law  and  order,  arts,  science,  and  religion. 

We  notice  that  the  rise  of  a  new  system  or 
power  —  skeleton,  legs,  or  brain  —  seems  only 
after  a  time  to  unfold  its  great  advantages,  and 
then  only  does  the  group  attain  its  full  suprem- 
acy. Evolution  ends  In  revolution  as  the  group 
fully  attains  the  higher  plane  of  life. 

In  the  upward  march  toward  man  many 
forms  drop  out  at  each  stage  and  go  little  or 

56 


Family  and  Society 


no  farther.  Modern  clams  and  snails,  crabs  and 
insects,  amphibia  and  reptiles,  are  the  descend- 
ants of  such  stragglers.  Most  of  the  army  set- 
tles or  straggles  or  turns  backward  or  down- 
ward; comparatively  few  keep  up  the  advance 
and  finally  push  on  to  the  next  higher  stage. 
Here  again  a  similar  sifting  process  occurs. 

Evolution  implies  the  possibility  of  progress, 
stagnation,  or  degeneration.  Any  species  or 
group  of  individuals  may  rise,  adapting  itself  to 
a  higher  plane  or  habit  of  life,  or  it  may  sink 
or  degenerate.  Stagnation  or  degeneration  is 
easier  and  more  common  than  progress,  but  usu- 
ally results  in  extinction.  The  fact  of  degenera- 
tion demands  our  most  careful  attention.^ 

We  notice  at  once  and  very  clearly  the  great 
complexity  of  human  organization.  Man  is  a 
product  of  the  ages,  and  every  age  has  contrib- 
uted to  his  structure  and  powers.  Protozoa 
formed  our  cells.  Coelenterates  gave  us  the  be- 
ginnings of  our  digestive  and  reproductive  sys- 
tems, and  the  tissues  out  of  which  other  organs 
were  to  be  constructed.  Worms,  wise  master 
builders,  framed  our  trunk.    Group  after  group, 


1  See  Bibliography. 

57 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

through  successive  stages,  added  to  the  muscu- 
lar system,  strengthening  and  shaping  our  legs, 
arms,  and  hands.  Only  man  attained  the  full, 
free,  and  complete  use  of  the  fingers.  The  place 
and  role  of  the  muscular  system  in  the  evolution 
of  the  race  and  in  the  development  of  the  indi- 
vidual has  never  been  properly  appreciated  or 
^  emphasized.  It  is  the  strategic  center  of  all  evo- 
\  lution  and  education  up  to  the  last  and  highest 
stage. 

But  the  evolution  of  this  system  changes  its 
direction  somewhat  from  stage  to  stage.  The 
old  trunk  muscles  are  heavy,  fitted  only  for 
crude,  rough,  hard  work.  The  successive  addi- 
tions are  continually  hghter,  finer,  fitted  for 
more  complex,  precise,  and  higher  actions. 
More  and  more  nervous  energy  is  required  for 
their  use  and  control.  Muscles  of  speech  and 
of  facial  expression,  so  characteristic  of  man,  find 
their  main  use  in  manifesting  thought  and  feel- 
ing. Mind  has  very  gradually  been  mastering 
and  permeating  the  nervous  system,  and  through 
it  the  whole  body.  The  final  goal  of  physical 
evolution  is  evidently  not  the  biggest  body  with 
the  heaviest  muscles,  but  the  one  which  shall  be 
the  best  and  most  complete  expression  of  the 

58 


Family  and  Society 


highest  and  best  human  mind.  First  comes  the 
physical,  then  the  mental  and  spiritual  slowly 
gain  ascendancy  and  complete  control. 

Mentally,  as  well  as  physically,  man  has  In- 
herited from  all  ages  and  stages  of  life.  Appe- 
tites are  old  and  deep-seated,  rude  and  very 
strong.  His  senses  are  keen.  Old  motives, 
like  fear  or  hate,  are  always  threatening  revolt 
against  the  higher  and  younger  moral  and  relig- 
ious ruling  powders.  But  slowly,  as  man  at- 
tained the  human  stage,  love  of  beauty  and 
truth,  of  right,  of  fellow-man  and  of  God;  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  reason — in  one  word,  the 
real  human  life — rose  superior  to  the  appetites 
and  passions  of  his  old  animal  ancestors.  It  has 
been  a  long  and  fearful  struggle.  Rex  regis 
rebellis.  The  king  has  always  been  in  rebellion 
against  the  king.  The  lower  always  appeals 
from  and  against  the  higher.  Ape  and  tiger  die 
hard. 

Where  so  many  powers  had  to  be  evolved, 
they  could  not  all  advance  equally  at  one  time. 
The  first  organs  were  those  Insuring  growth  and 
survival.  These  were  fundamental.  Only  when 
they  had  been  firmly  established  could  anything 
higher  be  Introduced.      But  upon  this  founda- 

59 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

tion  of  strength  a  superstructure  of  beauty, 
grace,  and  fineness  could  be  reared. 

Hence  the  line  of  evolution  Is  anything  but 
straight  and  direct.^  It  must  often  seem  illogi- 
cal. First  it  is  directed  toward  one  attainment, 
then  toward  another.  Through  the  struggle  for 
existence  natural  selection  favors  at  one  time  the 
development  of  one  power,  then  of  an  entirely 
different  one. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  our  ideas  of  evolution 
become  confused.  We  are  not  surprised  to  find 
that  many  writers  and  keen  thinkers  have  pro- 
posed theories  of  human  progress  really  applica- 
ble and  adequate  only  to  worms,  clams,  or  rep- 
tiles. The  story  of  evolution  becomes  ''  full  of 
sound  and  fury,  signifying  nothing.'* 

Thus  far  our  study  of  animal  development  has 
given  us  at  best  only  a  chronicle  of  events.  Can 
we  make  this  chronicle  a  history  by  finding  that 
certain  great  laws  unite  all  the  events  and  changes 
in  one  grand  progressive  evolution?  This  Is  the 
great  question  and  problem  which  we  must  seek 
to  solve  in  succeeding  chapters. 

1  Huxley,  T.  H.,  "Evolution  of  Ethics,"  last  part. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   LOGIC    OF    EVOLUTION  ^ 

OUR  sketch  of  the  stages  of  human  evo- 
lution has  given  us  glimpses  of  a  great 
drama  like  one  of  Wagner's  trilogies. 
Scenes  shift  and  different  heroes  follow  one  an- 
other on  the  stage.  But  the  story  seems  discon- 
nected.   The  gaps  and  breaks  are  very  wide. 

This  is  necessarily  the  case  when  we  attempt 
to  give  in  a  few  pages  the  history  of  the  animal 
kingdom  in  all  ages.  Even  if  we  had  unlimited 
time  and  patience  for  our  study,  the  history 
would  remain  incomplete.  Our  knowledge  is 
very  limited.  But  small  and  incomplete  as  it  is, 
it  may  be  valid  so  far  as  it  goes.  I  see  a  great 
mountain.  I  have  looked  at  only  one  side  of  it, 
perhaps.  I  may  have  correct  views  concerning 
that  side,  even  though  my  knowledge  of  the 
whole  mountain  is  very  inadequate. 

^  See  Appendix  Charts  V.  and  VI. 

6i 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

I  travel  toward  the  mountain,  and  am  carried 
to  the  top  by  a  railroad.  Clouds  have  settled 
and  have  obscured  my  view.  Yet  when  I  look 
down  from  the  summit  in  the  clearer  light  of 
the  next  morning,  I  do  not  need  to  trace  the 
whole  line  of  the  road  in  all  its  turnings  to 
know  that  I  have  passed  from  a  smiling  valley 
to  forests  and  pastures,  thence  to  bare  treeless 
rock,  and  finally  over  ice  and  snow.  I  must  have 
passed  these  landscapes  successively,  for  they  He 
In  zones  encircling  the  mountain. 

With  almost  equal  certainty  I  can  say  that 
man  in  his  evolution  passed  successively  through 
unicellular,  vegetative  or  coelenterate,  wormlike, 
and  vertebrate  stages.  These  stages  stand  out 
separate  and  disconnected  In  our  hasty  sketch. 
Let  us  see  if  their  succession  is  not  entirely  logi- 
cal and  exactly  what  we  might  expect. 

We  begin  with  the  marvelous  living  substance 
— protoplasm.  It  digests,  breathes,  excretes, 
feels,  adapts  Itself  to  the  most  varied  conditions. 
Its  most  noticeable  characteristic  Is  its  power  of 
adaptation.  Its  fitsomeness,  as  Professor  Brooks 
has  emphasized.  Whence  and  how  did  It  arise? 
I,  at  least,  have  no  theory  to  offer.  Gradually 
it   fashioned   the    cell,   a   still  more   marvelous 

62 


The  Logic  of  Evohition 


structure  capable  of  forming  all  the  organs  and 
doing  the  various  kinds  of  work  required  in  our 
body.  Cells  began  to  unite  in  groups,  and  some 
of  these  groups  took  the  form  of  a  double-walled 
sack,  our  zoophytic  ancestor.  This  little  animal 
had  two  organs,  one  for  digestion  and  the  other 
for  reproduction.  These  are  the  two  essential 
functions,  which  insure  the  growth  and  survival 
of  the  individual  and  the  species.  Power  of 
locomotion  was  small.  But  a  little  muscle  was 
necessary  to  gain  food  and  to  keep  the  body  in 
shape.  As  this  was  used  and  exercised  it  in- 
creased in  amount. 

Then  some  zoophyte  changed  Its  mode  of 
locomotion.  Instead  of  depending  upon  its  mi- 
croscopic oars  (cilia)  it  used  its  muscles.  It 
was  a  slight  change,  but  It  revolutionized  animal 
structure.  To  move  even  a  little  less  slowly  and 
to  seek  Its  food  over  a  wider  area  was  a  great 
advantage.  From  this  time  on  the  animal  which 
developed  muscle  survived,  and  gradually  re- 
placed the  form  which  developed  digestion  only. 
Muscle  stimulated  the  development  of  respira- 
tory, circulatory,  and  excretory  organs.  These 
were  grouped  to  form  the  trunk  of  the  body  of 
higher  animals.    The  exercise  stimulated  the  de- 

63 


Man  in  tlie  Light  of  Evolution 

velopment  of  the  skeleton,  and  of  something 
higher,  more  complex,  and  of  far  greater  possi- 
bilities— the  nervous  system.  Swifter  locomo- 
tion, search  for  food,  new  surroundings  with 
their  possibilities  and  dangers,  made  better  sense 
organs  very  profitable. 

Muscles  and  sense  organs  reacted  on  the  ner- 
vous system  and  lifted  it  to  a  higher  plane.  The 
visual  eye,  capable  of  seeing  images  of  objects, 
the  most  complex  and  youngest  of  all  the  sense 
organs,  appeared.  From  this  time  on  only  those 
animals  which  could  see  could  hope  to  win  in 
the  struggle  for  life  and  supremacy. 

The  front  part  of  the  nervous  system  enlarged 
under  these  stimuli  and  shaped  itself  into  a  brain. 

The  smaller,  lower  animals  are  usually  short- 
lived. The  larger  vertebrate  lived  for  years  or 
decades.  The  same  experiences  came  to  it  again 
and  again,  and  new  emergencies  and  dangers 
often  confronted  it.  Life  was  a  series  of  experi- 
ments for  all  our  ancestors.  Mr.  Erasmus  Dar- 
win defined  a  fool  as  a  man  who  never  tried  an 
experiment.  The  experimenting  animal  became 
in  time  intelligent.  Higher  mammals,  like  dog, 
fox,  elephant,  and  monkey,  are  often  shrewd. 
Wits  counted  in  the  struggle  as  well  as  muscular 

64 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


strength  and  agility.  Slowly,  but  surely,  mind 
crowded  muscle  off  the  throne  of  the  animal 
body.  The  brain  reigned  supreme.  Quaternary 
time  is  the  era  of  mind. 

There  have  been  three  dynasties  in  the  history 
of  evolution — first  that  of  digestion  and  repro- 
duction, then  that  of  muscle,  and  finally  that  of 
mind.  Each  lower  ciynasty  needed,  stimulated, 
and  thus  ushered  in,  the  reign  of  the  next  higher 
power,  and  then  became  subservient  to  this. 
Every  higher  power  begins  its  career  as  the  ser- 
vant of  the  lower.  The  reign  and  dominance  of 
the  higher  power  does  not  destroy  or  hamper  the 
development  of  the  lower  function.  The  diges- 
tive system  attains  its  highest  development  not 
during  its  period  of  supremacy,  but  in  its  service 
of  muscle  and  brain.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
muscles.  They  are  not  as  powerful  in  man  as 
in  some  lower  animals.  But  they  are  numerous, 
varied,  complex,  and  capable  of  finer  and  more 
complex  movements.  There  is  no  "  arrest  of 
the  body."  It  becomes  continually  finer,  better 
adapted  to  higher  uses  and  nobler  ends  discov- 
ered by  the  thinking  brain. 

As  each  higher  power  was  needed  for  the 
complete  use  and  development  of  the  lower,  the 

6s 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

sequence  of  dynasties  was  logical  and  natural. 
The  higher  had  to  arise  except  where  there  was 
arrest  of  development.  The  reign  of  mind  was 
the  only  logical  goal  of  even  zoophytic  structure 
and  development,  and  the  worm  foreshadowed 
the  coming  of  man.  The  lower  structure  and 
stage  is  evidently  incomplete.  It  must  be  esti- 
mated and  judged  in  the  light  of  the  higher  to 
which  it  is  a  stepping-stone.  Any  other  view 
leads  to  serious  error. 

But  the  lower  organ  or  function  once  firmly 
established  and  supreme  in  the  body  does  not 
readily  yield  its  control  and  abdicate  in  favor 
of  the  higher  power  of  greater  possibilities. 
There  is,  and  must  always  be,  a  struggle  for 
supremacy  between  the  lower  and  older  and  the 
younger  and  better.  The  revolution  succeeds 
only  against  strong  opposition.  Old  habits 
must  be  broken  and  new  ones  formed.  This 
is  exceedingly  difficult  for  animals  and  men. 
Hence  many  fail  to  enthrone  the  higher  power, 
never  break  from  the  old  habit  or  mode  of  life, 
and  remain  permanently  on  the  lower  plane. 

Every  function  or  power  holds  the  throne  as 
long  as  it  is  capable  of  rapid  Improvement,  more 
rapid  and  profitable  than  that  of  any  other  sys- 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


tern.  A  digestive  system  always  remains  com- 
paratively simple.  A  sack  or  tube  with  a  few 
glands  Is  all  that  is  needed.  The  reign  of  diges- 
tion may  have  been  short.  Muscle  and  skeleton 
are  far  more  complex,  capable  of  greater  vari- 
ety in  amount,  form,  structure,  and  grouping. 
Their  capacities  for  improvement  are  many  and 
great.  The  reign  of  muscle  lasted  for  ages. 
The  era  of  mind  Is  only  begun.  We  know  not 
what  we  shall  be.  But  the  possibilities  of  mental 
evolution  are  practically  unlimited;  they  may  be 
infinite.  The  era  of  mind  and  the  reign  of  its 
higher  powers,  the  supremacy  of  the  highest 
motives.  Is  sure.  Its  dynasty  is  secure.  No 
other  system  In  the  body  can  dispute  Its  place 
and  right. 

Animals  and  men  have  tried  the  experiment  of 
reversing  this  logical  sequence  of  ruling  func- 
tions. Parasites  and  sessile  animals  have  made 
the  muscles  serve  digestion.  Men  frequently 
make  mind  the  servant  to  the  gratification  of 
lower  powers.  The  experiment  has  always  re- 
sulted in  degeneration  and  usually  in  extinction. 

The  rule  or  dominance  of  functions  Is  suc- 
cessive, but  they  are  all  present  In  the  first  pro- 
tozoan. They  are  of  equal  age.  The  digestive 
6  67 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

system  comes  to  the  throne  first  just  because  it  is 
simple,  fundamental,  and  absolutely  essential  to 
life.  Muscle  follows  in  the  march,  more  slowly 
at  first,  because  more  complex  and  difficult  of 
development,  and  having  fewer  opportunities  to 
show  its  usefulness  and  capability.  Later  it 
overshadows  the  digestive  system.  Similarly 
brain  and  mind  were  developing  in  the  lowest 
stages.  But  it  was  a  most  difficult  problem  to 
form  a  brain.  It  could  not  show  its  power  and 
capacity  until  the  muscles  and  all  the  other  or- 
gans were  sufficiently  mature  to  execute  its 
decrees. 

In  tracing  the  mental  evolution  of  animals  we 
enter  on  difficult  and  dangerous  ground.  We 
know  and  understand  the  mental  actions  of  ani- 
mals only  by  comparing  them  with  our  own. 
Here  we  may  easily  mistake.  We  must  use  lan- 
guage really  applicable  only  to  the  mind  of  man 
and  higher  animals  concerning  beings  far  down 
In  the  scale  of  life.  Hence  we  can  use  the  words 
knowledge,  recognition,  perception,  motive,  and 
choice  only  in  an  exceedingly  broad  or  even 
figurative  sense.  We  use  these  words  only  be- 
cause there  are  no  other  familiar  and  plain  terms 
which  we  can  substitute  for  them. 

68 


The  Logic  of  Evohttioii 


The  lowest  animals  distinguished  and  were  at- 
tracted by  but  a  few  objects  in  a  very  limited 
range  of  surroundings.  The  world  of  a  proto- 
zoan is  a  drop  of  water,  and  he  distinguishes 
only  a  few  minute  particles  of  food.  Worms 
come  into  a  vastly  wider  range  of  conditions. 
They  have  good  sense  organs.  They  smell, 
taste,  and  see.  Vibrations  In  the  water  make 
them  aware  of  changes  in  surrounding  condi- 
tions, not  only  of  food  to  be  seized  but  of  dan- 
gers to  be  avoided.  The  worm  has  a  far  wider 
as  well  as  more  accurate  knowledge. 

But  the  study  of  objects  becomes  a  stepping- 
stone  to  the  study  of  their  relations  to  us  and 
of  one  to  another. 

Higher  animals  act  as  if  they  recognized  rela- 
tions. The  bee  associates  bright  spots,  "  honey 
guides,"  on  the  flower  with  concealed  nectar,  and 
thrusts  his  proboscis  into  the  opening.  Many 
animals  recognize  signs  of  danger.  The  hen 
clucks  at  sight  of  the  hawk,  and  every  fowl 
seeks  shelter.  The  animal  recognizes  but  a  few 
of  the  simplest  and  closest  relations  between  ob- 
jects and  Itself.  What  is  neither  food  nor 
enemy  may  usually  be  neglected.  Yet  some  ani- 
mals are  very  curious. 

69 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

Man  traces  the  relation  between  objects  and 
himself  and  between  objects  but  distantly  and 
indirectly  related  to  him.  Science  is  really  the 
study  of  the  relations  of  objects  and  of  the  laws 
of  their  interaction. 

New  relations  frequently  arise,  and  some  of 
them  are  of  vast  importance.  The  young  are 
neither  food,  enemy,  nor  exactly  friend,  to  the 
mother.  But  the  relationship  is  very  close  and 
changes  both  their  lives.  In  family  and  social 
life  new  relations  continually  appear  which  de- 
mand clear  recognition,  and  in  every  one  of 
which  proper  behavior  must  be  fixed  by  custom 
or  formulated  by  law  and  carefully  observed. 
Man  discovers  what  he  must  do  for  his  fellow, 
and  how  much  he  may  require  of  him.  Intan- 
gible and  invisible  rights  and  duties  have  become 
the  most  important  and  stubborn  facts  in  human 
life.  He  must  recognize  them  and  obey  their 
laws. 

Man,  a  comparatively  weak  and  defenseless 
mammal,  "  a  reed  but  a  thinking  reed,"  has  for- 
saken his  shelter  in  the  trees  and  lives  on  the 
ground.  He  is  surrounded  by  vast  objects,  buf- 
feted by  powers  which  he  can  neither  resist  nor 

70 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


understand.  The  world  Is  mysterious  and  fear- 
ful, if  not  awful  to  him.  He  is  inexperienced  in 
his  new  conditions.  Life  is  an  experiment,  and 
the  world  a  field  of  discovery.  Gradually  he 
becomes  aware,  or  thinks  he  has  become  aware, 
of  something  or  somebody  not  human,  who  will 
hurt  him  if  he  does  certain  things,  and  may  help 
him  if  he  does  others.  On  account  of  hard  ex- 
periences, or  for  other  reasons,  he  begins  to  asso- 
ciate this  being,  power,  or  influence,  with  certain 
objects.  Possibly  he  thinks  that  certain  charms 
may  protect  him  from  the  harm  wrought  by  this 
dangerous  neighbor.  He  becomes  a  fetich  wor- 
shiper. Still  he  wonders  about  this  strange  in- 
visible power  which  has  intruded  into  his  envi- 
ronment. He  experiments  here  as  elsewhere. 
He  thinks  he  discovers  somewhat  more.  The 
being  seems  to  have  knowledge  and  will  like 
himself,  or  It  acts  more  like  certain  powers  of 
nature.  He  begins  to  form  hazy  and  dim  con- 
ceptions concerning  It.  Religion  plays  a  very 
large  part  In  his  life,  and  begins  to  modify  all 
his  actions.  It  gives  its  sanction  to  his  crude 
code  of  morality,  promises  rewards  and  vague 
but  terrible  punishments.  However  we  may  ex- 
plain Its  origin,  it  is  a  fact  that  man  is  a  rellg- 

71 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


ious  belng.^  If  our  study  of  man  Is  not  to  be 
fatally  defective,  we  must  take  this  fact  Into 
account  and  give  It  due  emphasis.  It  has  had 
vast  power  for  good  and  sometimes  for  evil  In 
the  lives  of  men  and  nations.  And  It,  too.  Is  only 
what  we  might  expect  as  the  logical  and  natural 
result  of  man's  life  and  training. 

The  study  of  the  development  of  religion  Is 
a  science  by  Itself.  We  cannot  follow  It  here. 
From  the  fetlchism  of  the  savage  to  the  worship 
of  the  one  All-Father  Is  a  vast  journey.  But 
slowly,  and  often  painfully  and  at  fearful  cost, 
the  passage  has  been  made  by  every  great  man 
and  nation. 

Growth  In  knowledge  has  modified  the  life 
and  structure  of  animals  and  men  Indirectly,  as  it 
has  furnished  new  and  stronger  motives  for  new 
actions   and  experiments.     Survival  and   prog- 

^  Plutarch  seems  to  have  been  nearer  the  truth  than  some 
modern  observers  and  students  when  he  wrote:  "Pass  over 
the  earth,  you  may  discover  cities  without  walls,  without  lit- 
erature, without  monarchs,  without  palaces  and  wealth; 
where  the  theater  and  school  are  unknown;  but  no  man 
ever  saw  a  city  without  temples  and  gods,  where  prayers  and 
oaths  and  oracles  and  sacrifices  were  not  used  for  obtaining 
pardon  or  averting  evil." 

72 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


ress  demand  more  than  mere  knowledge  of  sur- 
roundings or  environment.  Conformity  to  envi- 
ronment is  the  essential  thing.  The  knowledge 
must  result  in  action,  the  intellect  must  stir  the 
will  before  any  real  progress  can  result.  Hence 
the  study  of  perceptions,  of  discovery,  is  prac- 
tically of  less  importance  than  that  of  the  motives 
which  have  stimulated  and  determined  the  line 
of  action;  for  the  line  of  action  and  habits  in- 
fluences that  of  selection  and  survival,  and  hence 
of  evolution.  Perhaps  we  ought  not  to  speak 
of  motives  among  the  lowest  animals.  But  we 
may  venture  to  use  this  expression  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  it  implies  will  and  choice.  There  is 
no  better  familiar  word  to  take  its  place. 

The  only  motive  which  the  lowest  animal  can 
feel  and  which  can  spur  him  to  action  is  hunger, 
and  perhaps  we  ought  to  add  pain.  Worms 
avoid  danger.  They  act  as  if  they  had  a  dim 
feeling  of  fear..  Fear  may  be  a  low  and  primi- 
tive motive,  but  it  is  of  great  importance.  Even 
the  man  who  cannot  fear  is  either  dull  or  ex- 
ceedingly reckless.  He  certainly  is  not  wise. 
Anger  and  jealousy  soon  follow. 

The  social  instinct  beginning  with  a  mere  gre- 
garious feeling  goes  on  into  love  of  mates.    The 

73 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

older  and  stronger  members  of  the  band  or  flock 
watch  and  protect  the  younger.  But  the  great 
change  from  selfish  or  self-centering  motives 
to  those  altruistic  feelings  which  center  about 
another's  welfare  comes  with  the  evolution  of 
family  and  social  life.  Mammals  and  birds  pro- 
tect their  young  at  the  risk  or  expense  of  their 
lives.  In  social  life  a  similar  feeling  Is  extended 
to  our  neighbors  so  that  a  man  may  lay  down 
his  life  for  his  friends. 

Social  life  brings  with  It  a  series  of  new  mo- 
tives. A  man  must  be  true  to  his  friends,  to  his 
clan,  city,  or  nation.  Friendship,  patriotism, 
loyalty,  honor,  duty,  become  sources  of  motives 
of  extraordinary  power.  They  raise  man  above 
thoughts  of  appetite  or  of  prudential  considera- 
tion. When  these  rule  the  life,  and  In  propor- 
tion as  these  rule,  he  becomes  a  hero  of  Titanic 
power. 

Last  in  the  series  and  youngest  of  all  are  the 
religious  motives.  Their  grandeur  is  but  dimly 
perceived  and  dully  felt  by  the  best.  Sometimes 
a  great  prophet  shows  us  their  power.  They 
are  still  struggling  In  our  minds  for  the  clear 
recognition  and  absolute  loyalty  and  complete 
obedience  which  they  will  some  day  gain.     We 

74 


The  Logic  of  Evohitioii 


cannot  even  imagine  the  power  which  they  will 
bestow  or  the  height  to  which  they  will  raise  us. 

We  cannot  fail  to  notice  that  we  have  here  a 
succession  of  motives  of  increasing  power.  Fear 
usually  overcomes  appetite;  but  anger,  and  much 
more,  parental  affection,  overcomes  fear.  But 
even  this  emotion  is  of  less  efficiency  than  human 
maternal  love  where  the  feeling  of  loyalty  and 
duty  mingles  with  maternal  affection.  The 
lower  motives  may  blaze  out  fiercely,  but  always 
more  or  less  fitfully,  the  higher  move  toward  a 
steady  purpose  befitting  human  powers  and  life. 

The  lower  motives  are  easily  satisfied,  and 
often  perish  with  the  using.  We  remember  our 
childish  anticipations  of  the  holiday  dinner,  and 
our  disappointment  because  appetite  failed  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  delicacies  which  we  had 
most  anticipated.  And  over-indulgence  was  fol- 
lowed by  penitential  fasting. 

But  the  higher  motives  grow  with  every  satis- 
faction of  their  cravings.  The  artist  forgets 
cold  and  hunger  in  the  joy  of  his  creative  work. 
Higher  forms  of  beauty  continually  lure  him  to 
greater  efforts.  Professor  Huxley  used  to  say 
that  the  passion  for  original  investigation  was 
harder  to  break  than  the  craving  for  intoxicating 

75 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

drink.  The  more  a  man  knows,  the  more  he 
longs  for  knowledge.  The  best  long  most  In- 
tensely for  the  highest.  While  the  lower  mo- 
tives enslave,  the  higher  give  the  most  complete 
freedom  to  the  man  absorbed  In  their  pursuit. 

The  line  of  evolution  Is  not  straight.  We 
might  compare  It  to  an  ever-widening  ascending 
spiral,  In  which  progress,  while  ever  upward.  Is 
often  apparently  In  almost  opposite  directions, 
as  the  earth  swings  toward  and  away  from  the 
sun  In  Its  elliptical  orbit.  The  final  goal  Is  clear, 
but  the  direction  of  movement  varies  from  stage 
to  stage.  We  may  speak  of  evolution  as  one 
process  in  reference  to  Its  end;  we  may  speak  of 
it  with  equal  justice  as  a  series  of  processes. 

Life  Is  first  half  vegetable,  then  more  and 
more  purely  animal,  finally  human.  Natural 
selection  works  first  for  good  digestion,  then  for 
tough  and  powerful  muscles,  then  for  shrewd- 
ness, finally  for  righteousness  and  love.  The 
spur  to  action  varies  from  stage  to  stage,  and  new 
motives  arise.  Life  Is  at  first  largely  chemical 
or  physical.  Consciousness  and  thought  seem 
hardly  more  than  by-products.  Life  remains 
dependent  upon  chemical  and  physical  forces 
and  processes,  but  all  these  are  directed  by  a 

76 


The  Logic  of  Evohition 


motive  or  purpose  which  has  its  seat  entirely  in 
the  mind.  In  one  word,  if  we  are  studying  evo- 
lution, our  views  and  even  our  definitions  of  its 
process  or  processes  will  vary  according  to  the 
animal  or  stage  of  life  whose  evolution  we  are 
watching.  A  theory  which  would  have  been 
entirely  adequate  and  satisfactory,  when  worms 
were  at  the  head  of  the  animal  kingdom  and  its 
highest  product,  may  be  defective  and  mislead- 
ing when  applied  to  the  evolution  of  men  into 
something  higher. 

Even  if  our  study  of  evolution  should  open 
our  eyes  only  to  the  marvelous  possibilities  of 
life  and  teach  us  to  wonder  at  them,  it  will  not 
have  been  in  vain.  For  "  Wonder  is  the  mother 
of  wisdom."  We  see  dimly  great  promises  afar 
off.  Present  human  attainm-ents  appear  small 
and  poor  compared  with  the  glory  which  is  to  be. 
We  are  called  to  higher  attainments  and  uses. 

We  study  history  in  order  that,  through  our 
knowledge  of  its  laws,  we  may  forecast  the 
future.  We  rightly  believe  that  tendencies 
which  have  existed  and  strengthened  through 
past  centuries  will  continue  in  force.  For  this 
reason  we  believe  that,  whatever  the  form  of 
future  government  may  be,  it  must  tend  to  ex- 

77 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evohttion 

press  more  fully  and  adequately  the  will  of  the 
people. 

Our  study  of  biological  history  has  shown  us 
certain  laws  and  tendencies  which  have  been 
working  through  thousands  or  millions  of  years, 
and  which  must  therefore  continue  to  guide  or 
urge  man  toward  some  far-off  goal.  We  must 
believe  that  progress  will  still  continue  accom- 
panied by  much  stagnation  and  degeneration. 
Many  will  fall  out  of  the  upward  line  of  march, 
as  their  animal  and  anthropoid  predecessors  have 
done  in  the  past.  Evolution  is  no  guarantee  of 
universal  progress.  But  some  will  press  on  to 
a  higher  plane  of  life. 

In  this  higher  life  the  best  attainments  of  all 
past  generations  will  be  preserved  or  improved. 
The  lower  vegetative  visceral  organs  will  not 
deteriorate.  They  are  essential  to  life,  and  will 
be  maintained  or  improved  in  the  interest  of  bod- 
ily and  spiritual  health.  The  muscular  system 
will  still  be  needed  to  maintain  health  and  to 
realize  the  plans  and  commands  of  the  thinking 
mind.  Finer  actions  of  finer  muscles  of  expres- 
sion will  play  a  larger  and  larger  part  in  the  life 
of  the  future.  Knowledge  will  increase.  Man 
will  think  not  only  of  how  to  get  a  living,  but 

78 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


also  and  far  more  how  to  live.  Getting  will 
become  a  means  of  being,  not  the  end  in  itself 
which  it  often  is  to-day.  Knowledge  of  some- 
thing more  important  and  higher  than  mere  ma- 
terial things  will  be  cultivated.  The  higher 
knowledge  better  used  will  keep  before  the  mind 
stronger  motives  which  will  stimulate  the  exer- 
cise of  the  highest  powers,  and  thus  lead  to  the 
largest  life. 

We  see  that  as  animals  and  men  pass  from  one 
stage  to  another,  new  and  higher  powers  suc- 
cessively dominate  life.  These  powers  usually 
have  arisen  from  small  and  weak  beginnings  in 
the  service  of  lower  powers.  The  first  business 
of  animals  or  men  at  each  stage  is  to  make  the 
highest  power  supreme  and  regal  in  the  organ- 
ism; to  allow  it  no  longer  to  be  subservient  to 
anything  else,  but  to  make  everything  else  sub- 
serve it.  This  has  been  the  history  of  the  suc- 
cessive dynasties,  which  have  characterized  suc- 
cessive stages  of  progress  and  raised  life  to  the 
human  plane. 

The  human  plane  of  life  and  development 
must  be  characterized  by  the  rise  to  supreme 
control  of  powers  and  ideals  which  were  far 
from  being  ruling  powers  in  the  life  of  animals 

79 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

or  lower  men.  These  ideals  must  furnish  the 
strongest  and  most  enduring  motives  to  the  high- 
est actions.  The  powers  and  their  exercise  must 
bring  him  into  the  closest  touch  with,  and  most 
complete  conformity  to,  the  highest  and  best 
environment.  These  dominating  powers,  ideals, 
actions,  in  one  word,  life  must  be  completely  on 
the  human  plane  and  worthy  of  it.  The  attain- 
ment of  such  powers  and  ideals,  not  yet  attained 
or  fully  understood  or  appreciated,  is  the  end, 
aim,  and  business  of  the  present  human  stage 
of  evolution.  The  powers  which  have  raised 
man  from  the  animal  to  the  human  plane,  and 
which  most  sharply  distinguish  him  from  ani- 
mals, are  evidently  the  moral  and  religious. 
These  alone  are  fitted  to  man's  social  and  Intel- 
lectual plane  of  life.  These,  therefore,  not 
wealth  or  material  prosperity,  or  even  art  and 
science,  furnish  the  real  ends  of  human  prog- 
ress. These  alone  can  furnish  motives  for  su- 
preme and  enduring  effort.  Only  these  stimu- 
late and  exercise  the  highest  powers.  Every- 
thing else  is  but  a  means  to  these  ends,  must  be 
so  regarded,  and  held  strictly  and  sternly  in  Its 
proper  place. 

Our  fathers  said  that  ''  Man's  chief  end  Is  to 

80 


The  Logic  of  Evohttion 


glorify  God  and  to  enjoy  Him  forever."  Criti- 
cise the  definition  as  you  will,  it  recognized  and 
furnished  a  chief  end.  The  greatest  and  most 
widespread  danger  is  that  we  shall  pursue  no 
chief  end  in  life,  but  only  a  multitude  of  means. 
Life  without  any  chief  end  worthy  of  the  name 
necessarily  remains  low  and  weak.  It  really  un- 
folds none  of  its  powers.  All  its  energies  dissi- 
pate like  steam  from  an  open  vessel.  This  is 
death. 

We  can  make  the  higher  powers  subserve  the 
lower,  follow  honesty  because  it  Is  the  best  pol- 
icy, be  or  seem  religious  because  it  Is  respect- 
able, serve  God  with  our  eyes  fixed  on  the  main 
chance,  and  grow  cross-eyed  thereby.  This  Is 
repeating  the  experiment  of  the.  parasite  or  ses- 
sile form  on  a  higher  plane  where  the  ruin  is 
more  sure  and  complete.  It  can  have  but  one 
end — degeneration. 

**  A  house  divided  against  Itself  cannot 
stand."  It  will  not  long  remain  divided.  If 
pulled  by  two  tendencies.  It  will  follow  the  one 
or  the  other.  It  will  become  all  slave  or  all  free. 
What  Mr.  Lincoln  saw  to  be  true  of  the  Union 
Is  equally  true  of  the  life  of  every  individual. 
He  will  inevitably  follow  the  higher  motive  or 

8i 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

ideal  and  make  the  necessary  effort  to  rise  to  the 
next  higher  plane  of  life,  or  he  will  sink  to  the 
lower.  There  is  no  middle  ground  where  he  can 
stand  still.  There  can  be  no  unity  in  the  life 
which  is  half  anthropoid  and  half  human. 
Halting  between  two  opinions  and  aims  leads 
no  whither  except  to  crippledom.  There  can  be 
freedom  in  the  use  of  our  powers,  and  an  end 
to  strife  and  schism  in  life,  only  as  we  reso- 
lutely and  continuously  make  the  highest  su- 
preme. Only  by  this  effort  and  through  this 
warfare  can  we  win  peace.  For  in  this  realm 
and  on  this  plane  peace  is  won  only  by  conquest, 
and  is  the  reward  of  him  that  overcometh. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  describe  man  in  the 
light  of  evolution  somewhat  more  clearly.  Man 
is  physically  a  machine  for  the  manifestation  of 
energy.  The  digestive  system  furnishes  the  fuel. 
The  muscular  and  nervous  cells  are  the  furnaces 
where  the  fuel  is  burned;  respiratory  and  ex- 
cretory systems  correspond  to  draft  and  smoke- 
stack. The  circulatory  system  is  the  means  of 
conveying  fuel  and  oxygen  to  the  cells  and  of 
removing  their  waste.  Every  visceral  organ  is 
indirectly  a  means  of  power  and  efficiency. 

The  power  is  manifested  through  the  mus- 

82 


The  Logic  of  Evohttion 


cles.  These  build  roads,  write  poems,  and  utter 
"  winged  words."  But  these  muscles  are  of  very 
different  age,  strength,  and  complexity  of  ar- 
rangement. The  manifestation  of  energy  is 
stimulated,  controlled,  and  directed  by  the  ner- 
vous system.  Every  display  of  power  takes 
place  in  response  to  an  external  stimulus  which 
affects  some  sensory  organ  or  structure.  It  is 
made  to  avoid  some  danger,  to  seize  some  oppor- 
tunity, or  to  meet  some  emergency.  Hence  the 
need  of  clear  and  accurate  perception.  New 
emergencies  and  opportunities  are  always  arising 
and  calling  for  new  responses.  Life  is  a  series 
of  experiments  demanding  the  highest  intelli- 
gence and  wisdom. 

Man  is  a  social  being.  Family  and  social  life, 
rooted  in  human  structure,  have  imposed  upon 
him  new  relations  which  he  must  recognize  and 
to  which  he  must  conform.  The  family  has 
trained  him  to  intelligence  and  unselfishness  and 
many  homely  v^irtues.  Social  life  is,  or  should 
be,  the  school  of  morals.  Man  is  a  religious 
being  and  must  recognize  his  relations  and  duties 
to  God  as  well  as  to  his  fellow-men. 

Man  chooses  means  and  ends  consciously  and 
intelligently.  The  goal  of  his  effort  once  chosen, 
7  83 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 

the  effort  Is  maintained  by  the  will.  The 
strength  of  his  purpose  and  the  vigor  of  his 
efforts  Is  proportional  to  the  depth  and  Inten- 
sity of  his  feeling  or  to  the  power  of  his  motives. 
These  motives  are  of  very  different  age  and  char- 
acter. Appetites,  prudential  considerations,  love 
of  beauty,  truth,  and  goodness,  moral  and  relig- 
ious motives,  form  an  ascending  scale  of  value 
and  power.  The  highest  and  strongest  motives 
characterize  the  fully  developed  man  and  make 
him  what  he  is. 

Man  Is  therefore  a  being  of  extraordinary 
complexity  and  of  innumerable  possibilities.  He 
can  rise  to  heights  of  wisdom  and  power  of 
which  we  as  yet  have  little  conception,  or  he 
can  sink  lower  than  any  brute.  He  can  press 
upward  In  the  line  of  progress,  can  stray  or 
straggle  from  the  line  of  march,  or  can  stag- 
nate or  turn  back.  He  has  more  possibilities  of 
failure  than  the  lower  animal,  and  the  attrac- 
tions and  allurements  to  stray  from  the  upward 
course  are  more  numerous  and  more  powerful. 

Only  close  attention  to  the  highest  aims  and 
enthusiasm  for  the  highest  ends  can  unify  so 
complex  a  federation  of  powers  and  direct  the 
life  toward  a  truly  human  goal.     Otherwise  en- 

84 


The  Logic  of  Evohttion 


ergy  is  dissipated  and  wasted,  and  failure  Is  sure 
to  follow.  Only  the  highest  ends  and  motives 
can  call  forth  the  Titanic  energy  of  man's  high- 
est powers.  In  so  far  as  he  fails  of  the  very 
highest,  he  fails  to  be  a  man.  To  these  highest 
spiritual  powers  and  ends  all  lower  powers  and 
ends  must  be  strictly  and  sternly  subordinated. 

But  conversely  the  physical  and  the  lower 
mental  must  be  developed  to  the  utmost  as  the 
necessary  servant  and  supporter  of  the  higher. 
Otherwise,  however  good  and  high  his  goal  and 
ends,  he  Is  powerless  to  attain  them  himself  or 
to  lead  and  lift  others  to  them.  The  machine 
Is  no  stronger  than  Its  weakest  point — physical, 
mental,  or  moral. 

Man's  greatest  danger  Is  that  of  Incomplete 
development.^  The  goal  of  evolution  Is  a  com- 
plete manhood,  where  the  tough  body,  clear  and 
cool  mind,  warm  heart  with  Its  Intense  feelings, 
and  Iron  will  set  on  the  highest  ends  are  all 
combined  In  one  royal  life.  This  alone  Is  that 
wholeness,  haleness,  health,  holiness,  salvation 
— call  It  what  you  will — which  characterizes  the 

^  Clouston,  T.  S.,  "Neuroses  of  Development,"  London, 
1891. 

8s 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

true  man  of  real  and  full  power.^  Evolution 
points  to  a  regenerated  society  composed  of  such 
men  and  women. 

One  of  the  greatest  discoveries  of  modern 
science  Is  the  law  that  the  development  of  the 
Individual  briefly  and  very  Incompletely  reca- 
pitulates the  evolution  of  the  race  or  species.- 
The  law  of  a  logical  sequence  of  stages  In  human, 
physical,  and  mental  evolution,  of  a  succession 
of  thought  and  motives,  applies  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  child  as  well  as  to  the  evolution  of 
the  race. 

The  baby  lives  In  a  sort  of  coelenterate  stage 
of  almost  vegetative  life.  His  whole  business 
seems  to  be  to  eat,  digest,  breathe,  and  sleep,  to 
survive  and  grow.  His  education  consists  very 
largely  In  making  his  physical  surroundings  as 
favorable  to  bodily  health  as  they  possibly  can 
be.  But  the  baby  gives  dim  promises  of  some- 
thing higher  and  better.  He  grasps  and  handles 
and  is  Interested  In  objects  and  persons.     He  Is 


1  Compare  Huxley,  T.  H.,  "Lay  Sermons,"  New  York, 
1871,  Article  III;  "A  Liberal  Education." 

2  See  Bibliography. 

86 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


perceiving.  He  kicks  and  wriggles;  he  will  soon 
walk  and  run.  The  young  child  wishes  to  be 
continually  in  motion.  He  cannot  sit  still  long. 
The  muscular  system  Is  the  seat  and  center  of 
his  development,  as  it  was  of  his  animal  ances- 
tors through  long  ages.  This  muscular  exercise 
Is  lifting  all  his  vital  organs,  heart,  lungs,  di- 
gestive system,  and  is  giving  him  the  first  ele- 
ment of  power — a  tough  body.  It  is  tuning  up 
the  nervous  system  and  stimulating  the  brain. 
His  capacity  for  logical  thought  Is  very  small, 
his  moral  and  religious  conceptions  are  dim  and 
crude.  He  Is  still  In  the  muscular  stage,  but 
curiosity  and  wonder  and  some  thought  show  the 
dawn  of  the  era  of  mind  which  quickly  follows. 
The  really  human  powers  rise  at  adolescence, 
as  President  Hall  has  showed  us.^  During  this 
period  of  youth  and  early  manhood,  boy  and 
girl  struggle  out  of  childhood  WMth  its  concep- 
tions and  motives  into  true  social,  moral,  and 
religious  life.  The  higher  alms,  motives,  pur- 
poses, character,  and  life  must  be  established 
now  or  never.     We  must  seize  the  opportunity 

1  Hall,  G.   S.,  "Adolescence,"    New  York,  1904.     See 
Bibliography. 

87 


Mmi  ill  the  Light  of  Evolution 

or  it  will  escape  us  once  for  all.  It  is  a'critical 
period.  The  boy  may  press  upward  out  of  the 
animal  or  half-human  life  into  a  complete  man- 
hood. He  may  partially  stagnate  in  the  lower 
stage,  as  clam  and  reptile  have  done  before  him. 
He  may  promise  well,  but  the  pressure  of  early 
adult  life  may  hamper  and  stunt  the  develop- 
ment of  all  the  higher  powers.  He  fails  to  com- 
plete his  development.  The  moral  and  religious 
powers  are  not  crushed  out,  but  they  fail  to  be- 
come supreme.  He  becomes  what  he  and  others 
call  a  practical  man,  a  prosperous  Philistine, 
an  anthropoid,  but  not  a  man.  He  may  sink 
in  criminality  or  bestiality. 

The  infantile  and  childish  stages  are  abso- 
lutely essential  to  the  development  of  a  complete 
manhood.  During  them  are  laid  the  firm  and 
rude  foundations  of  physical  health  and  vigor 
with  the  accompanying  power,  courage,  hope, 
and  faith  of  the  athlete.  These  we  must  foster 
in  every  way,  and  at  the  same  time  stimulate 
but  not  overtax  the  nascent  mental  powers. 

Similarly  the  education  of  the  youth  must  not 
suppress  the  youthful  characteristics.  They  are 
normal,  healthy,  and  essential.  The  boy  and  girl 
must  have  their  own  conceptions  and  Ideals,  not 

88 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


those  of  their  grandparents.  If  we  attempt  to 
root  up  childish  or  youthful  thoughts,  purposes, 
and  ideals,  and  implant  our  own  in  their  place, 
we  have  broken  the  logical  sequence  of  human 
development,  and  only  harm  can  result.  At  the 
same  time  we  must  stimulate  In  every  way  the 
development  of  the  nascent  moral  and  religious 
powers,  lest  they  fail  to  reach  their  supreme 
position  in  adult  life.  Any  system  of  education 
which  does  not  send  the  youth  out  into  life  with 
a  powerful  impetus  toward  all  that  is  best  and 
grandest  has  failed  of  its  chief  end  and  use. 

The  chief  business  of  the  adult  is  evidently 
the  supremacy  of  these  highest  powers.  Every- 
thing else  is  of  secondary  importance.  Arrest 
of  development  at  this  point  is  fatal  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  to  the  race.  The  arrested  individual 
contributes  nothing  essential  to  progress,  and  a 
society  in  which  such  individuals  lead  and  con- 
trol stagnates  and  probably  degenerates.  To 
be  content  with  ancestral  attainments  is  fatal. 
What  was  progress  for  them,  is  often  retro- 
gression for  us. 

Only  the  complete  development  and  suprem- 
acy of  these  highest  powers  can  unify  the  life 
of  the  individual  and  make  him  a  whole  and 

89 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

healthy  man.  Otherwise  he  dissipates  his  pow- 
ers and  fritters  away  effort  In  things  of  no  real 
significance.  He  becomes  insignificant  himself. 
Arrest  of  development  and  loss  of  power  through 
lack  of  one  chief  and  worthy  purpose  and  end 
is  a  fatal  danger  of  the  individual  and  of  society. 

Whatever  be  our  theories  concerning  vital 
force  or  energy,  it  reminds  us  of  a  great  master 
attempting  to  bring  grand  music  out  of  a  very 
Inadequate  instrument.^  It  seems  to  be  strug- 
gling continually  to  clothe  itself  in  a  more  suit- 
able body,  to  express  itself  In  all  its  strength  and 
beauty  in  worthier  forms.  It  rises  from  mire 
and  water  Into  air  and  sunshine,  unfolds  one 
physical  power  after  another.  It  unmasks  Itself 
and  behind  the  physical  we  see  the  transcendent 
glory  of  the  moral  and  spiritual.  These  are  the 
powers  which  are  now  shaping  the  body  and 
molding  thought  and  speech  to  their  own  high- 
est ends.  Yet  we  must  take  nothing  for  granted. 
Are  these  promises  and  visions  merely  the  dreams 
of  youth?     Is  what  we  see  afar  off  solid  moun- 

^  Compare  Cope,  E,  D.,  "  Primary  Factors  of  Evolution," 
Chapters  IX  and  X. 

90 


The  Logic  of  Evolution 


tain  or  mere  cloud  and  mist?  We  must  prove 
every  step  thoroughly  if  we  would  not  fall  into 
error. 

Like  begets  like  always,  and  still  there  is 
always  variation.  So  far  as  we  can  see,  the 
struggle  for  life  is  unending.  Natural  selection 
still  works  steadily  and  relentlessly.  Still  the  fit- 
test survive.  The  method  of  working  varies, 
and  the  results  of  each  process  are  always  higher 
and  larger.  This  much  seems  fairly  certain. 
But  we  must  study  these  forces  or  tendencies 
carefully  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts  of  human 
structure  and  character  before  we  can  have  an 
adequate  theory  of  human  evolution.  Other- 
wise we  may  frame  a  hypothesis  whose  working 
would  have  doomed  man  to  stagnation  in  brute- 
hood,  if  not  to  degeneration  and  extinction. 


CHAPTER    V 

THE   SURVIVAL   OF   THE   FITTEST  ^ 

INDIVIDUALS  and  species  are  continually 
varying.  The  unfit  are  weeded  out;  the 
fittest  survive.  Who  are  the  fittest?  Are 
there  any  permanent  and  essential  characteris- 
tics of  fitness  true  alike  at  all  stages  of  develop- 
ment? This  Is  evidently  a  most  Important  ques- 
tion. Our  answer  to  It  will  determine  largely 
our  views  concerning  the  whole  theory  of  evolu- 
tion. 

One  or  two  characteristics  of  fitness  are  neces- 
sary and  fundamental,  and  evident  at  the  outset. 
The  fittest  form  must  be  progressive.  However 
great  Its  past  attainments,  If  It  goes  no  farther, 
it  will  surely  be  surpassed  and  left  behind  by 
some  other  steadily  advancing  form.  But  prog- 
ress must  be  continued  through  a  long  series  of 
generations.     Hence  It  must  be  capable  of  sur- 

1  See  Appendix  Chart  VII. 
92 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

vival.  Otherwise  it  can  contribute  nothing  to 
the  progress  of  life.  But  a  host  of  forms  at  first 
sight  seem  to  answer  these  two  requirements. 
We  must  find  some  means  of  sifting  them  still 
farther. 

The  safest  line  of  study  would  seem  to  be  fur- 
nished by  geology  and  paleontology.  We  will 
attempt  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  our  globe  at  vari- 
ous stages  of  its  geological  evolution,  and  to  see 
what  forms  are  competing  for  the  prize  of  sur- 
vival and  leadership  in  the  struggle  for  life. 
As  we  pass  from  stage  to  stage  we  can  see 
the  success  or  failure  of  the  experiments  tried 
by  the  most  promising  competitors  in  preceding 
stages. 

There  was  life  on  the  globe  long  before  the 
beginning  of  paleozoic  time.  The  '*  everlast- 
ing hills  "  have  grown  old,  worn  down,  disinte- 
grated, and  almost  disappeared  since  the  lower 
forms  of  life  arose.  But  the  earliest  forms  of 
life  were  mostly  soft-bodied,  and  It  was  Impos- 
sible to  preserve  even  traces  of  them.  The  rocks 
in  which  they  were  Imbedded  have  been  worn, 
burled,  twisted,  and  often  recrystalllzed.  The 
few  remains  which  have  come  down  to  us  can 
tell  us  but  very  little.     We  catch  our  first  clear 

93 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

glimpse  at  the  beginning  of  paleozoic  time,  or 
perhaps  a  little  before  its  beginning.  Here  our 
chronology  cannot  be  definite. 

At  this  time  a  very  large  part  of  the  surface 
of  the  globe  was  covered  by  a  vast  primeval 
ocean.  The  continents  were  hardly  outlined. 
North  America  seems  to  have  consisted  mainly 
of  a  V-shaped  mass  of  land  with  its  point  or 
apex  near  Lake  Superior,  and  its  arms  stretch- 
ing, one  toward  Labrador  and  the  other  toward 
Alaska,  to  the  east  and  west  of  Hudson's  Bay. 
The  rest  of  the  continent  was  mostly  submerged 
beneath  a  great  sea  whose  surface  was  broken 
by  island  or  island  chains.  We  do  not  know 
how  much  life  there  may  have  been  upon  the 
land.  It  was  probably  scanty.  Our  ancestors 
were  still  in  the  primeval  ocean,  the  cradle  of 
all  hfe. 

Mollusks  were  well  represented.  Clams  were 
already  safely  ensconced  and  slumbering  in  the 
mud.  Other  forms  with  spiral  shells  crawled 
over  the  bottom.  Cuttlefish,  somewhat  like  our 
present  squids,  but  with  their  bodies  protected 
by  a  light  shell,  swam  freely  everywhere.  They 
seem  to  have  lacked  the  beak  of  our  modern 
forms.     But  they  could  swallow  most  of  their 

94 


The  Survival  of  tJic  Fittest 

competitors  whole,  so  that  this  lack  was  no  seri- 
ous defect. 

Crustacea,  now  represented  by  crabs  and  lob- 
sters, crept  or  swam,  had  jointed  legs,  and  were 
protected  by  a  coat  of  plate-armor. 

Swimming  in  the  water  above  were  some  ani- 
mals, probably  about  as  large  as  good-sized 
earthworms.  They  had  no  defensive  armor,  and 
no  weapon  of  offense.  They  had  been  driven 
from  the  rich  feeding  grounds  of  the  bottom  by 
the  crabs  and  mollusks,  and  were  living  on  the 
minute  forms  of  life  which  they  could  sift  from 
the  water.  These  were  the  first  vertebrates. 
There  must  have  been  other  interesting  forms; 
there  were  probably  many  peculiar  and  fascinat- 
ing worms.  But  these  w^e  can  pass  by.  They 
have  mostly  become  extinct. 

Which  of  these  three  competitors  is  the  fittest? 
The  free-swimming  primitive  vertebrate  seems 
to  be  already  distanced  in  the  race.  The  crab  is 
a  well-protected,  moving  being,  whose  jointed 
legs  promise  a  higher  organization.  But  the 
cuttlefishes  have  everything  their  own  way. 
They  are  completely  protected,  and  that  seems 
to  count  for  most  under  present  conditions. 
They  move  fairly  well.     They  have  abundance 

95 


Ma7i  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


of  food,  and  can  reproduce  rapidly.  They  have 
possession  of  all  the  natural  advantages,  nine 
points  of  the  law;  and  they  have  the  size  and 
strength  to  maintain  possession,  which  should 
constitute  the  tenth. 

We  are  hard-headed,  practical  men  of  science, 
who  know  nothing  of  the  future.  We  judge 
by  what  we  see,  and  by  what  the  past  can  teach 
us.  The  mollusk  must  be  the  fittest.  There  Is 
some  hope  for  the  crustacean,  but  none  for  the 
already  distanced  and  defeated  primitive  verte- 
brate. 

We  come  down  Into  mesozolc  time.  The 
continents  have  taken  form  and  shape.  The 
eastern  half  of  the  United  States  has  gradually 
emerged  from  the  ocean.  When  the  surface  of 
the  land  was  but  very  little  above  tide  level, 
great  forests  of  ferns  and  club  mosses  flourished, 
sank  below  the  water  level,  were  covered  with 
sand  and  mud,  and  changed  Into  our  coal  beds. 
On  these  great  marshes  amphibia  have  appeared. 
They  had  developed  from  ganoid  fishes.  In 
mesozolc  time  the  land  has  risen  higher.  There 
are  still  great  jungles  or  marshes  covered  with 
a  tropical  vegetation.  Dryer  uplands  are  begin- 
ning to  appear. 

96 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

The  moUusks  are  surviving  abundantly,  but 
have  made  very  little  progress.  Crustacea,  or 
some  ancestor  of  the  Crustacea,  have  given  birth 
to  insects.  But  these  small,  short-lived  forms, 
governed  by  instinct,  are  no  match  for  their 
larger  competitors,  which  have  started  along  the 
road  which  leads  to  warm  blood,  long  life,  and 
Intelligence.  These  latter  are  all  descendants  of 
the  poor  primitive  vertebrate  which  seemed  al- 
ready distanced  In  the  race  at  the  beginning  of 
paleozoic  time. 

In  the  jungles,  where  food  Is  most  abundant, 
we  see  reptiles  of  every  form  and  kind.  Some 
stalk  on  two  legs;  others  walk  or  run  on  four, 
much  like  our  present  herbivorous  cattle. 
Others  wade  or  swim  in  the  great  lakes.  Some 
fly  with  batlike  wings.  In  the  sea  great  lizards 
flourish.  Many  of  these  are  large  and  powerful, 
some  of  them  swift  and  agile.  They  have  heavy 
jaws  and  strong  teeth.  Many  or  most  are  mail- 
clad.  No  other  form  can  join  battle  with  them. 
Birds  are  flying  through  the  air,  though  still  per- 
haps half  reptilian  In  form  and  appearance.  We 
find  a  few  small  mammals,  no  one  of  them  a 
match  for  even  the  weaker  reptiles. 

Once  more,  which  is  the  fittest?     We  must 

97 


Mmi  m  the  Light  of  Evoltttiofi 

judge  by  what  we  can  see.  Later  forms  have 
not  arrived  to  tell  us  the  answer  to  our  riddle. 
The  reptile  seems  the  most  promising  form.  But 
the  bird  fulfills  certain  conditions  better.  The 
whole  process  of  evolution  up  to  this  time  has 
tended  to  the  production  of  muscular  forms  of 
swift  locomotion.  The  bird  is  a  high-pressure 
engine  of  hot  blood  and  marvelous  swiftness, 
of  keen  sense  organs,  and  no  mean  brain.  The 
bird  is  a  far  higher  and  finer  form  than  the  rep- 
tile. What  chance  has  the  plodding  mammal 
about  as  large  and  as  dangerous  as  a  rat  or  a 
rabbit? 

We  are  in  tertiary  or  cenozoic  time.  The  great 
reptiles  have  disappeared,  only  the  inferior  have 
survived.  Birds,  like  precocious  children,  have 
not  fulfilled  the  promise  of  their  youth.  The 
prize  will  surely  fall  to  some  mammal.  There 
are  splendid  carnivora,  cats  or  tigers,  with  pow- 
erful bodies  and  long  saber-like  eye-teeth.  The 
herbivorous  horses  and  deer  have  developed 
long  slim  legs,  and  seek  safety  in  flight.  The 
rodents,  our  rats,  rabbits,  and  squirrels,  have 
taken  refuge  in  holes  or  have  gone  into  the 
trees.  In  the  trees  we  see  also  lemurs,  halfway 
between  a  squirrel  and  a  monkey  in  appearance. 

98 


The  Sttrvival  of  the  Fittest 

They  are,  or  their  descendants  will  be,  "  our 
furry,  arboreal  ancestors,  with  pointed  ears." 
Will  they  ever  come  down  from  the  trees,  and 
give  battle  to  the  tiger?  In  quaternary  time  the 
descendant  of  the  lemur  reigns  unchallenged  and 
supreme.  Even  the  magnificently  molded  cat, 
light  and  lithe,  quick  and  powerful,  keen  of  eye 
and  scent,  and  by  no  means  dull  of  brain,  cannot 
stand  against  trap  and  gun. 

It  is  a  strange  story.  Our  few  Illustrations 
could  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  If  we  have  pic- 
tured to  ourselves  the  struggle  for  existence  as 
a  mere  battle  between  brutes,  where  the  fittest 
was  always  the  strongest  and  largest,  we  have 
erred  completely.  As  Mr.  Huxley  has  said  of 
social  and  ethical  progress:  ''It  repudiates  the 
gladiatorial  theory  of  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence." ^  In  fact  the  race  is  never  to  the  swift 
nor  the  battle  to  the  strong.  There  must  be 
some  explanation  for  so  strange  and  unexpected, 
yet  constant,  outcome  of  the  struggle.  One  ex- 
planation is  evident  and  of  great  practical  Impor- 
tance. 

In  paleozoic  times  vertebrates,  mollusks,  and 

^  Huxley,  T.  H.,  *'  Evolution  and  Ethics." 

8  99 


Mafi  in  the  Light  of  Evoltttion 

Crustacea  were  all  experimenting  with  the  skele- 
ton. The  vertebrate  developed  an  internal  loco- 
motive skeleton  of  little  use  for  protection.  The 
mollusk  had  gained  an  external,  purely  protec- 
tive skeleton  or  shell.  The  crustacean  followed 
the  safer  middle  course.  Its  skeleton  was  mostly 
for  locomotion,  but  somewhat  for  protection. 

The  external  skeleton  was  easy  to  build.  The 
cells  of  the  skin  of  many  marine  forms  secrete 
carbonate  of  lime  or  horn.  The  covering  was 
likely  to  vary  because  external.  Every  form 
having  a  little  larger  and  more  effective  pro- 
tective skeleton  gained  thereby  a  very  tangible 
and  immediate  advantage  and  was  fostered  by 
natural  selection.  The  evolution  of  such  an  or- 
gan goes  on  very  rapidly.  The  main  groups  of 
mollusks,  with  their  most  Important  characters, 
had  all  appeared  in  early  paleozoic  time. 

An  internal  skeleton,  an  organ  of  locomotion, 
was  far  more  difficult  to  build.  New  tissues,  car- 
tilage or  gristle,  and  finally  bone,  had  to  be 
formed.  The  deep-seated  organ,  being  less  ex- 
posed to  varying  conditions,  varied  less.  Very 
slight  variations  would  probably  give  less  advan- 
tage in  the  struggle,  and  hence  were  more  slowly 
accumulated  through  natural  selection.     For  all 

lOO 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

these  reasons  the  molluscan  skeleton  was  prac- 
tically complete,  conferring  all  its  great  advan- 
tages, before  the  vertebrate  skeleton  was  more 
than  begun.  The  mollusk  had  attained  very  tan- 
gible results  while  the  vertebrate  was  scarcely 
more  than  a  bundle  of  possibilities. 

The  protective  shell  of  the  mollusk  hindered 
locomotion,  and  thus  hampered  the  development 
of  muscle  and  nerve.  It  kept  the  body  short 
and  unfit  for  rapid  movement.  But  muscle  and 
nerve  were  the  two  tissues  capable  of  great  com- 
plexity and  high  development.  They  develop 
through  their  use  in  locomotion.  The  external 
shell,  having  few  possibilities  in  itself,  and  de- 
stroying those  of  other  organs,  was  fatal  to  any 
high  development  of  the  molluscan  type.  The 
evolution  of  mollusks  went  on  very  rapidly  at 
first,  and  then  ceased  almost  completely.  There 
was  abundant  variation  within  somewhat  narrow 
limits,  there  was  easy  and  sure  survival,  but  there 
was  little  progress  anywhere.  The  clam  is  the 
logical  goal  of  such  an  experiment. 

The  vertebrate  skeleton,  comparatively  sim- 
ple at  first,  was  constantly  improved  and  addi- 
tions were  made  to  it.  But,  only  when  it  had 
attained   a  certain  size   and  strength,   could  it 

lOI 


Man  ill  the  Light  of  Evolution 

show  Its  vast  advantages  over  the  molluscan 
shell.  Every  improvement  in  this  skeleton  in- 
creased speed  of  locomotion,  stimulated  nerve, 
sense  organs,  and  brain,  exercised  the  muscles, 
and  thus  led  on  to  higher  and  higher  realiza- 
tions and  to  new  possibilities.  It  was  like  a  mine 
in  which  the  ore,  poor  at  the  surface,  grows 
richer  with  increasing  depth.  The  vertebrate 
was  sure  to  be  outclassed  at  first,  and  equally 
sure  to  win  in  the  end. 

The  experiment  of  using  an  external  locomo- 
tive skeleton  culminated  in  insects.  It  was  suited 
only  for  small  forms, ^  and  thus  led  to  shortness 
of  life,  to  instinct  rather  than  intelligence.  Such 
a  skeleton  has  far  greater  possibilities  than  the 
shell  of  mollusks.  But  its  possibilities,  especially 
along  the  line  of  development  of  brain,  are  nec- 
essarily limited.  The  highest  attainments  could 
not  be  reached  by  any  such  experiment.  Now 
that  we  can  see  the  whole  of  the  experiment, 
these  results,  hardly  to  be  foreseen,  have  become 
perfectly  clear. 

The  molluscan  line  ended  in  the  slough  of  con- 

^  Compare  Lotze,  H.,  "  Microcosmus,"  vol.  i,  Book  IV, 
Chapter  IV,  "Man-Brute." 

I02, 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 


tentment,  that  of  Crustacea  before  an  impassable 
barrier,  an  unscalable  cliff.  The  path  of  verte- 
brates, steep  and  difficult,  led  ever  upward. 

The  change  from  water  to  land  brought  with 
It  many  difficulties  and  disadvantages.  Motion, 
so  easy  in  the  water,  was  hard  under  the  new 
conditions.  The  crawling,  helpless  amphibian 
seems  a  poor  creature  compared  with  the  darting 
fish.  But  life  in  the  air  was  furnishing  more 
oxygen,  was  preventing  the  loss  of  heat,  and  was 
thus  raising  the  temperature  of  the  blood,  was 
leading  to  a  higher  and  freer  life.  But  at  first 
the  disadvantages  of  the  change  were  more  ap- 
parent than  the  gains. 

The  immediate  use  of  mammalian  structure 
was  to  insure  survival  by  saving  eggs  or  young. 
Its  grand  final  advantage  was  family  life  and 
the  social  life  which  was  based  upon  this.  The 
marked  advantages  came  late. 

Hand  and  brain  are  exceedingly  complex  or- 
gans, and  are  correspondingly  slow  in  their  de- 
velopment. It  takes  time  for  them  to  attain  and 
prove  their  real  value.  They  have  vast  capaci- 
ties, but  these  are  realized  to  only  a  very  small 
extent  in  their  earlier  stages.  All  these  struc- 
tures of  higher  mammals,  while  useful  from  the 

103 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

start,  point  forward  to  the  higher  mental  and 
moral  powers  of  a  distant  future. 

But  very  few  vertebrates  attained  these  higher 
stages  and  powers.  The  fish  stayed  in  the  water, 
and  not  a  few  amphibians  have  returned  to  the 
life  of  their  fish  ancestors.  Reptiles  remained 
cold-blooded. 

The  bird  developed  a  very  high  temperature 
of  body,  marvelous  locomotive  power,  and  the 
keenest  sense  organs.  But  in  brain  it  has  re- 
mained far  inferior  to  the  plodding  mammal. 
Perhaps  its  power  of  flight  kept  it  largely  out  of 
reach  of  its  enemies.  The  hunted  mammal  be- 
came wary  and  shrewd. 

The  highest  development  of  the  brain  was  ap- 
parently correlated  with  the  origin  and  use  of 
the  hand  and  fingers,  and  the  hand  was  the  re- 
sult of  arboreal  life.  But  most  mammals  re- 
mained on  the  ground,  and  thus  cut  themselves 
off  from  the  possibility  of  attaining  the  very 
highest  stage. 

It  is  evident  that  we  must  distinguish  very 
sharply  between  fitness  and  dominance.  The 
dominant  forms,  like  paleozoic  mollusks  and 
mesozoic  reptiles,  are  those  which  are  reaping 
to  the  full  the  benefits  of  the  use  of  some  power 

104 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

already  attained,  at  the  expense  or  to  the  neglect 
of  the  development  of  some  higher  power  of 
greater  capacity.  They  have  gained  present 
prosperity  at  the  expense  of  all  possibility  of  fu- 
ture progress.  Such  prosperity  and  dominance 
must  be  brief.  They  are  like  certain  unwise  in- 
vestors who  lose  their  whole  capital  in  the  effort 
to  gain  a  high  rate  of  interest.  Such  a  policy 
must  end  In  bankruptcy  and  beggary.  The  mol- 
lusk  sleeping  in  his  shell  is  sure  to  be  surpassed 
by  the  form  which  is  investing  all  its  energy  of 
development  in  some  organ  of  higher  possibili- 
ties and  capacities.  The  hulking  brute  of  a  rep- 
tile will  In  time  yield  place  to  the  brainier  mam- 
mal. But,  if  we  focus  our  attention  upon  the 
present  alone  and  close  our  eyes  to  the  future, 
the  dominant  form  will  almost  certainly  appear 
to  be  the  fittest,  although  Its  doom  is  sure  and 
downfall  near. 

The  fittest  is  the  form  which  keeps  up  and  Im- 
proves all  the  attainments  of  its  ancestors,  but 
steadily  exercises  and  develops  the  organ  of 
highest  capacities  and  possibilities.  But  such 
complex  organs  or  institutions  are  and  must  be 
of  slow  growth.  The  seed  is  planted  by  one 
generation,  and  fostered  with  much  pains  and 

105 


Mmi  in  the  Light  of  Evolutioit 

labor  by  descendants.  The  real  and  full  harvest 
is  reaped  only  at  a  far  later  time.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  higher  power  or  possibility  involves 
necessarily  a  distinct  and  often  considerable  loss 
or  renunciation  of  present  advantage.  He  who 
will  save,  cannot  spend  lavishly  or  freely.  He 
who  will  win  the  race  must  undergo  training  and 
deny  himself  certain  pleasures.  This  is  evi- 
dently unavoidable.  It  is  equally  clear  that  the 
vertebrate  was  sure  for  a  time  to  be  overshad- 
owed by  the  mollusk,  and  to  be  driven  from  the 
surroundings  where  life  was  easiest.  The  mam- 
mal had  to  be  outclassed  by  the  reptile,  and  the 
arboreal  form  by  the  carnivore.  It  could  not 
well  have  been  otherwise. 

Why,  then,  did  any  of  our  ancestors  choose 
a  path  which  sacrificed  present  advantage  or 
comfort  to  future  attainment?  They  did  not 
choose  at  all.  Every  one  of  them  followed  the 
line  of  least  resistance  for  him.  The  primitive 
vertebrate  kept  swimming  because  those  who 
went  to  the  bottom  were  eaten  up  by  Crustacea  or 
moUusks.  The  swimming  habit  occasioned  the 
development  of  an  internal  skeleton  and  made 
an  external  skeleton  impossible  until  a  much 
later  time. 

io6 


The  Survival  of  iJie  Fittest 

The  mammals  who  kept  on  laying  eggs  lost 
so  many  young  that  nearly  all  of  them  have  be- 
come extinct.  Birds  and  reptiles  hunted  the  de- 
fenseless mammal  until  they  taught  him  to  be- 
come agile  and  wary.  Carnlvora  developed. 
Life  became  very  unsafe  for  all  Inhabitants  of 
the  ground.  Some  sought  safety  In  flight,  some 
in  holes  In  the  ground.  Our  ancestors  were  slow 
of  foot,  and  could  not  or  would  not  dig;  they 
had  to  climb.  Very  probably  they  had  some  In- 
nate aptitude  In  this  direction.  But,  morally 
speaking,  the  carnlvora  "  boosted  "  them  Into 
the  trees  by  eating  up  all  those  who  remained  on 
the  ground. 

Nature's  system  of  education  Is  very  simple. 
She  puts  the  animal  under  conditions  where  It 
must  die  or  form  the  habit  which  will  Insure  the 
exercise  of  the  highest  powers  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  highest  organs.  Many  fail  and  die. 
Some  at  least  form  the  right  habits  and  attain 
the  next  higher  stage.  Here  again  the  same 
process  Is  repeated. 

Such  a  system  of  education  Is  severe  and  un- 
sparing. Just  when  our  ancestors  were  begin- 
ning to  reap  and  enjoy  the  advantages  of  muscle, 
she  urged  them  on  to  develop  a  skeleton.     They 

107 


Mail  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

were  content  and  well  fed  In  the  water,  but  they 
were  crowded  out  on  land.  When  they  were 
beginning  to  fully  enjoy  life  on  the  ground,  they 
were  driven  to  a  new  mode  of  life  In  the  trees. 
She  treated  them  much  as  Poor  Joe  In  "  Bleak 
House "  complained  that  Detective  Bucket 
treated  him :  "  He  always  kept  a-chivying  of  me, 
and  a-telling  me  to  move  on." 

The  chivying  process  seems  necessary.  When 
a  group  of  animals  has  remained  for  a  time  un- 
der conditions  where  struggle  and  effort  are 
unnecessary,  further  development  seems  to  be- 
come Impossible  for  them.  Apparently  for  this 
reason,  through  lack  of  the  spur  of  necessity, 
groups  have  straggled  and  fallen  out  of  the 
march,  and  stopped  all  along  the  line  of  ad- 
vance. Life  seems  like  wet  plaster.  As  long  as 
you  stir  it  vigorously,  you  can  mold  it  as  you 
will.  Set  it  down  for  a  moment,  and  It  hardens 
Into  a  useless  mass. 

This  pressure  of  adversity  is  needed  not  only 
to  prevent  the  individuals  of  any  group  from 
straying  into  tempting  bypaths  and  to  hem  them 
In  to  the  line  of  progress.  It  is  essential  to  the 
complete  development  of  the  individual.  It  has 
been  well  said  that  the  surroundings  which  are 

io8 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

most  favorable  to  progress  are  those  which  offer 
the  greatest  number  and  variety  of  stimuli  which 
will  continually  call  into  action  all  the  powers 
of  the  individual.  A  life  of  ease  means  lack  of 
stimuli,  and  hence  the  full  development  of  but 
few  powers.  Powder  and  efficiency  come  only 
through  vigorous  exercise,  and  strength  through 
struggle.  The  obstacles  may  be  so  great  that  it 
is  almost  or  quite  impossible  to  overcome  them. 
But  development  can  come  only  through  the  con- 
tinual testing  and  training  of  the  growing  power 
and  through  compelling  it  to  accomplish  to-day 
what  was  impossible  a  year  ago.  The  spur  of 
necessity  is  the  beneficent  as  well  as  the  essential 
element  in  the  education  of  races  and  individ- 
uals, of  animals  and  men.^ 

But  why  did  not  some  ancient  cat  develop 
muscle,  tooth,  and  claw  as  long  as  these  were 
highly  profitable,  and  then  proceed  to  put  its 
energy  into  the  development  of  a  thinking  brain? 
No  cat  ever  did  this,  otherwise  you  and  I  would 
probably  have  not  been  here.  Nature  seems  to 
say  to  every  group  of  animals:  "  Try  whatever 

1  See  Orr,  H.  B.,  "A  Theory  of  Development  and  Hered- 
ity," p.  248.     Wallace,  A.  R.,  "Darwinism,"  close  of  book. 

109 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolutio7i 

experiment  you  will,  along  any  line  whatsoever. 
But  when  you  have  begun,  you  must  follow  that 
line  to  its  end.  There  is  to  be  no  turning  back." 
An  illiterate  but  wise  minister  once  said  that  the 
most  important  text  in  the  whole  Bible  was: 
"  They  got  going,  and  they  couldn't  stop." 

Yet  nature's  severity  is  really  kindness.  She 
is  continually  spurring  her  favorites  to  a  higher 
and  keener  enjoyment.  Rest  is  not  inactivity. 
Idleness  is  unendurable  to  the  healthy.  Exercise 
of  a  normal  kind  and  degree  of  any  organ  al- 
ways brings  pleasure.  The  higher  the  power  ex- 
ercised, the  higher  the  joy.  This  is  one  reason 
why  the  motives  peculiar  to  each  higher  plane  of 
life  supersede  and  dominate  those  of  the  lower. 
They  lead  to  the  exercise  of  a  power  giving 
keener  enjoyment. 

Our  study  of  fitness  leads  us  to  the  same  con- 
clusions as  that  of  the  logic  of  evolution.  Life 
is  ever  advancing  from  plane  to  plane.  It  pro- 
gresses by  the  rise  of  higher  and  higher  powers 
which  only  slowly  gain  supreme  control  in  the 
body.  The  higher  power  is  at  first  feeble,  and 
seems  of  comparatively  small  profit.  So  muscle 
in  zoophytes,  brain  in  early  vertebrates,  morals 
in  earlier  centuries  or  millennia  of  human  history, 

no 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

and  religion  to  a  large  extent  to-day.  But  this 
nascent  power  must  be  developed  at  all  cost,  if 
the  form  is  to  pass  from  any  lower  stage  of  life 
to  the  next  higher.  Making  the  most  of  those 
powers  only  which  are  already  firmly  established 
or  ruling  in  the  body  leads  to  temporary  domi- 
nance, but  to  final  degeneration  or  extinction. 

The  progressive  animal  or  man  must  cultivate 
steadily  the  powers  which  have  raised  him  from 
the  next  lower  stage.  He  ought  to  cultivate 
these  by  some  higher  exercise  or  in  some  wor- 
thier form  than  ever  his  ancestors  have  done,  if 
he  is  to  progress.  The  powers  which  most  clearly 
distinguish  man  from  the  lower  animals,  which 
have  made  him  what  he  is,  are  evidently  moral 
and  religious.  But  there  is  evidently  an  almost 
endless  series  of  planes  of  moral  and  religious 
life.  The  progressive  portion  of  the  human 
race  can  never  be  content  with  the  moral  stand- 
ards or  religious  visions  and  attainments  of  its 
near  or  remote  human  ancestors.  It  must  press 
on  to  higher  standards  and  attainments.  This 
is  merely  a  truism.  But  a  truism  is  usually  a 
truth  which  we  have  forgotten  or  neglected. 
If  this  statement  be  accepted,  other  conclusions 
and  results  necessarily  follow.     Some  of  these 

III 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

are  of  great  practical  Importance,  and  we  must 
give  them  our  careful  attention. 

Socrates  is  being  entertained  at  a  banquet  in 
the  house  of  Gorgias.  The  conversation  turns 
first  on  rhetoric,  then  on  justice,  and  finally  on 
life.  Callicles  has  exhorted  Socrates  to  practice 
the  art  of  dealing  with  realities,  and  that  which 
shall  gain  him  a  reputation  for  common  sense; 
and  to  emulate,  not  the  men  who  spend  their 
time  in  probing  insignificant  questions  concerning 
truth  and  justice,  but  rather  those  who  possess 
means  and  reputation  and  all  the  other  good 
things  of  life.  He  has  assured  Socrates  that  the 
end  of  all  his  work  will  be  sentence  in  the  courts 
and  death  by  the  vote  of  his  fellow-citizens.  One 
after  another  Socrates  silences  all  his  opponents, 
and  ends  the  discussion  with  a  statement  of  his 
own  belief. 

"  So,  bidding  farewell  to  those  things  which 
most  men  count  honors,  and  looking  onward  to 
the  truth,  I  shall  earnestly  endeavor  to  grow  as 
far  as  may  be  In  goodness  and  thus  live,  and 
thus,  when  the  time  comes,  die.  .  .  .  Beyond  all 
else  a  man  must  take  heed  not  to  seem  but  to  be 
good  in  public  and  private.  .  .  .  The  best  way 
of  life  Is  to  practice  justice  and  every  other  vir- 

112 


The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

tue,  and  so  to  live  and  so  to  die.  This  way  then 
we  will  follow,  and  we  will  call  upon  all  other 
men  to  do  the  same;  not  that  way  which  you  be- 
lieve in  and  call  upon  me  to  follow;  for  that 
way,  Callicles,  is  worthless." 

It  is  only  the  old  story  in  a  new  form.  Calli- 
cles's  philosophy  is  reptilian.  Socrates,  looking 
away  from  the  immediate  and  tangible,  is  fol- 
lowing in  the  line  unconsciously  trodden  by  all 
his  progressive  ancestors  throughout  the  ages. 
The  old  law  of  fitness  is  unchangeable  and  irre- 
versible. Man  must  focus  his  attention  and  will 
on  the  development  of  the  powers  of  unlimited 
capacity  and  possibilty.  Otherwise  he  will  surely 
degenerate.  He  must  be  willing  to  renounce 
certain  present  advantages.  It  is  merely  what 
all  his  ancestors  have  done  before  him.  He 
must  face  the  ridicule  of  the  molluscan  philoso- 
phers. There  is  much  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
clam  abroad  in  the  world  to-day,  though  its 
original  source  is  usually  unknown  or  unrecog- 
nized. The  goal  of  evolution  lies  far  in  the 
future,  distant,  and  often  dim.  We  must  keep 
our  eyes  fixed  steadily  upon  it  or  we  shall  surely 
stray.  There  are  many  paths  which  seem  right 
in  men's  eyes  whose  end  is  death. 

113 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

By  what  power  or  virtue  does  a  man  renounce 
certain  real  and  desirable  present  advantages 
and  struggle  toward  a  far-off  goal  which  is  only 
dimly  discernible,  and  so  distant  that  he  can 
never  reach  it?  This  vital  question  will  demand 
our  attention  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER    VI 

EVOLUTION   AND   FAITH 

OVER  the  doorway  of  Professor  Haeck- 
el's  lecture  room  In  Jena  stands  the 
motto:  Impavidi  progrediamiir  ("  Let 
us  go  forward  without  fear").  Every  upward 
step  in  evolution  has  been,  and  always  must  be, 
an  experiment  concerning  whose  success  more 
or  less  doubt  is  inevitable.  Would  muscles  or 
larger  digestive  organs  pay  better  in  primitive 
worms?  Was  the  internal  skeleton  of  the  primi- 
tive vertebrate  or  the  flexible  mail-coat  of  crab 
and  insect  the  wiser  Investment?  Only  time 
could  tell.  The  problem  had  to  be  solved  by 
experiment.  But  the  experiment  lasted  through 
ages,  and  the  solution  was  long  delayed. 

But  long  and  patient  waiting  and  delay  in  the 
solution  of  the  problem  are  not  the  only  or  the 
greatest  objection  and  difficulty  which  the  fittest 
have  to  face.  It  Is  evident  that  they  cannot  hope 
to  reap  during  their  lifetime  any  large  share  of 
9  115 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

the  results  of  their  fitness.  These  are  reserved 
for  their  descendants.  All  the  disadvantages, 
hardships,  and  losses  of  their  experiment  become 
apparent  quickly.  The  gains  and  advantages 
are  mostly  In  a  far-off  future.  This  also  Is  In- 
evitable. The  fittest  have  developed  only 
through  the  hard  training  and  testing  of  all 
their  powers.  They  are  always  graduated  from 
the  school  of  adversity  with  Its  hard  and  healthy 
stimuli.  Meanwhile,  the  dominant  form  is 
easily  reaping  a  full  harvest  of  present,  evident, 
and  tangible  gain.  His  descendants  long  after- 
wards pay  the  penalty  of  his  mistakes.  But  he 
and  his  contemporaries  will  live  to  see  only  the 
advantages.  Past  experience  reviewed  by  hu- 
man intelligence  casts  light  on  the  path  of  future 
progress.  But  the  goal  of  attainment  toward 
which  we  must  march  lies  In  a  distant  future 
always  dim  and  uncertain. 

Says  Professor  James:  *'  In  all  ages  the  man 
whose  determinations  are  swayed  by  reference 
to  the  most  distant  end  has  been  held  to  possess 
the  highest  Intelligence.  The  tramp  who  lives 
from  hour  to  hour;  the  Bohemian  whose  engage- 
ments are  from  day  to  day;  the  bachelor  who 
builds  for  a  single  life;  the  father  who  acts  for 

ii6 


Evohition  and  Faith 


another  generation ;  the  patriot  who  thinks  of  a 
whole  community  and  many  generations;  and 
finally  the  philosopher  and  saint  whose  cares  are 
for  humanity  and  eternity — these  range  them- 
selves in  an  unbroken  hierarchy."  ^ 

But  Professor  James  suggests,  if  he  does  not. 
emphasize,  a  second  series  of  equal  importance. 
Man  is  a  social  being  living  in  families  and  com- 
munities. These  larger  units  also,  through  their 
effects  upon  their  members,  are  tested,  and  fos- 
tered or  destroyed,  by  the  process  of  natural  se- 
lection. There  is  an  increasing  tendency,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  diminish  competition  and  to  In- 
crease mutual  aid  by  the  combination  of  smaller 
into  larger  groups.  The  man  who  works  for  the 
establishment  and  betterment  of  these  larger 
units  is  putting  his  efforts  in  line  with  the  trend 
of  evolution. 

Hence  we  may  say  that  the  intelligence  of  a 
man  is  measured  not  only  by  the  distance  of  his 
ends  and  goal,  but  also  by  the  size  of  the  social 
unit  whose  good  he  serves.  The  selfish  individ- 
ual, thinking  only  of  himself;  the  father  who 
cares  only  for  his  family;  the  good  neighbor; 

1  James,  W.,  "Psychology,"  New  York,  1893,  p.  loi. 

117 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

the  faithful  citizen  in  the  smaller  or  larger  com- 
munity; the  patriot  who  seeks  the  welfare  of  the 
nation ;  and  the  philanthropist  to  whom  nothing 
human  is  foreign,  and  who  seeks  the  good  of 
all  mankind — all  these  form  a  hierarchy  of 
broader  sympathy  and  love,  and  of  ever  widen- 
ing influence.  The  broader  the  field  of  one's 
efforts,  the  larger  the  group  for  which  one 
works,  the  more  distant  the  goal.  Only  patriot 
and  philanthropist  really  have  immortality. 
The  two  series  or  hierarchies  are  in  general  par- 
allel or  converging.  A  man  of  high  rank  in 
the  one  will  hold  a  similar  position  in  the  other 
also.  These  laws  of  human  history  are  really 
one  aspect  of  a  grander  law  of  biology,  of 
which  human  history  is  only  the  last  volume  or 
chapter. 

Animals  and  men  have  always  followed  one 
of  two  lines  of  action  and  life.  Dominant  forms 
have  utilized  to  the  utmost  powers  and  structures 
already  largely  attained  by  their  ancestors,  whose 
supreme  usefulness  as  ends  has  culminated  and 
is  declining,  and  which  offer  the  largest  imme- 
diate return.  They  have  lived  for  present 
conditions  and  surroundings,  have  conformed 
completely  to  these.     They  have  gained  present 

ii8 


Rvohition  and  Faith 


prosperity  at  the  cost  of  future  progress  and 
survival.  For,  when  conditions  change,  as  they 
surely  will,  the  dominant  form  pays  the  penalty 
of  extreme  adaptation  and  over-specialization.^ 
The  dominant  human  form  is  almost  necessarily 
selfish.  Selfishness  and  sin  are  the  supreme  blun- 
ders and  follies. 

The  fittest  have  developed  the  power  of  great- 
est capacities  and  largest  possibilities.  They 
have  always  kept  open  the  door  to  future  prog- 
ress. Toward  this  they  press.  They  have  as- 
sured future  success  and  the  supremacy  of  their 
descendants  at  the  loss  of  many  v^ery  real  ad- 
vantages and  in  the  face  of  difficulties  and 
hardships.  Their  experiment  must  always  seem 
doomed  to  failure  in  the  eyes  of  the  superficial 
observer.  Arguments  in  its  favor  must  sound 
unpractical  and  quixotic.  Future  generations 
demonstrate  their  wisdom  and  true  success. 

We  have  seen  that  the  fittest  animals  followed 
the  upward  path  through  no  choice  or  superior 
intelligence,  but  only  under  severe  pressure. 
They  were  shut  up  to  it,  and  crowded  into  it. 

1  Cope,  E.  D.,  "Primary  Factors,"  p.  172.  "Law  of  the 
Unspecialized." 

119 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

It  was  practically  the  only  path  left  open  to 
them. 

Man  must  follow  a  very  similar  path,  but  In 
his  struggle  to  realize  his  possibilities  he  must 
act  consciously  and  of  set  purpose.  The  possi- 
bilities are  grand  and  Inspiring.  Evolution  Is 
full  of  promise  to  every  thoughtful  man.  The 
fulfillment  of  the  promise  belongs  to  a  future 
whose  distance  and  breadth  measures  the  wis- 
dom of  his  choice. 

Every  stage  In  the  evolution  of  man  has  been 
useful  In  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  contribu- 
tion which  It  could  make  In  progress.  Coelen- 
terates  contributed  a  stomach ;  worms  and  lower 
vertebrates,  sense  organs  and  muscles  which 
made  possible  stronger  and  quicker  and  finally 
more  precise  movements.  Each  stage  aided  ac- 
cording to  Its  ability  in  building  the  brain. 
Higher  mammals  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
human  family  and  society.  Each  stage  has  its 
own  place  and  work  which  It  alone  can  do. 
Each  successive  contribution,  proportioned  to 
the  powers  of  the  stage  which  made  It,  was 
larger,  higher,  finer,  more  complex,  required  a 
longer  time  for  Its  realization,  reached  farther 
into  the  future,  and  gave  vague  promise  of  some- 

120 


Evolution  and  Faith 


thing  still  better  to  come.  This  made  each  suc- 
cessive experiment  more  difficult  and  hazardous, 
as  well  as  more  beneficent. 

Present  man  must  make  some  still  grander 
contribution  to  human  evolution,  one  propor- 
tioned to  his  powers  and  stage  of  life,  along 
lines  largely  unattained  by  any  animal,  and  far 
beyond  the  understanding  of  primitive  man. 
Intelligence  must  develop ;  but  it  must  be  an  in- 
telligence which  gives  a  clearer  vision  and  knowl- 
edge of  social,  moral,  and  religious  truth  and 
law,  and  which  will  furnish  ideals  and  motives 
for  progress  along  these  lines.  Intelligence  or 
education  which  merely  increases  comfort  and 
ease  and  removes  obstacles,  but  does  not  inspire 
and  strengthen  men  to  face  new  difficulties  and 
hardships,  to  win  new  battles,  and  to  attain  a 
higher,  broader,  and  more  serviceable  life,  must 
end  in  degeneration.  Knowledge  will  increase. 
But  it  must  be  a  knowledge  worthy  of  the  human 
plane  of  life,  furnishing  motives  worthy  of  hu- 
man beings,  and  thus  aiding  man  slowly  and  pa- 
tiently to  realize  his  highest  possibilities. 

The  fittest  must  take  the  risk  of  making  the 
highest  ideals,  aims,  purposes,  and  powers  su- 
preme  in  life,  and  sternly  subjugate   all  lower 

121 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

aims  and  powers  to  be  means  to  these  higher  and 
worthier  ends.  The  experiment  extends  into  a 
distant  future,  and  others  reap  the  rewards  of 
their  efforts.  They  can  only  hope.  Yet  they 
must  beware  of  rushing  blindly  after  every  hope 
and  promise  held  out  by  visionaries.  Their  con- 
fidence must  have  a  foundation  in  past  experience 
and  progress. 

They  catch  a  glimpse  of  some  great  human 
good  not  yet  attained.  A  higher  moral  tone  in 
the  life  of  individual,  family,  or  society;  better 
conditions  and  larger  opportunities  for  their  less 
fortunate  fellows ;  a  purer  and  nobler  church  or 
state;  in  one  word,  some  betterment  of  human 
life — is  greatly  needed  and  worthy  of  all  their 
efforts.  But  Is  it  possible,  practicable,  attain- 
able? 

The  promise  is  anything  but  clear  and  precise. 
They  can  as  yet  describe  it  to  others  only  in  gen- 
eral and  vague  terms.  Attention,  thought,  and 
hard  study  must  be  focused  on  these  vague 
promises  until  they  acquire  a  definite  meaning. 
Thus  to  fix  the  attention  for  months  and  years 
requires  a  firm  purpose  and  a  stout  heart  and 
will. 

While  they  are  gazing  into  the  future,  present 

122 


Evolution  and  Faith 


advantages  are  slipping  from  their  grasp.  Soc- 
rates has  to  "  bid  farewell  to  what  men  count 
honors,"  and  Agassiz,  In  his  pursuit  of  science, 
"  has  no  time  to  make  money."  Callicles  is  con- 
tinually exhorting  them  not  to  waste  their  time 
and  powers  on  Insignificant  questions,  but  to 
think  of  something  practical. 

Still  they  persist  In  their  thought  and  study, 
and  slowly  the  promise  gains  definite  form  and 
content  in  their  minds.  The  vision  of  a  higher 
life  and  better  age  dawns  clear  before  their  eyes. 
It  thrills  and  inspires  them.  They  look  forward 
to  its  speedy  and  full  realization  with  eager  an- 
ticipation. They  choose  it  as  the  reward  of  all 
their  efforts.  They  will  take  joy  and  hardship, 
good  and  evil  of  the  quest  with  "  frolic  wel- 
come." They  are  young  and  strong,  and  life 
Is  long. 

But  the  goal  Is  far  more  distant  than  they 
have  thought;  obstacles  hinder  or  block  their 
progress.  They  have  to  contend  against  active 
opposition  and  passive  Inertia,  against  unwill- 
ingness to  think,  Indifference  and  moral  paralysis 
of  friends,  and  against  keenness  and  vigor  of 
opponents. 

They  find  that  attainment  of  the  goal  and 

123 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

realization  of  the  vision  are  not  for  them.  They 
can  make  only  a  small  attainment  and  slight 
contribution  not  unmixed  with  evil.  Their  chief 
reward  is  the  strength  and  joy  which  spring 
from  struggle.  Conscious  of  their  powers  they 
know  well  the  rewards  which  they  are  letting 
slip  though  within  easy  reach.  They  know  and 
feel  the  strength  of  these  temptations.  The  fit- 
test must  be  men  and  women  of  unconquerable 
purpose  and  iron  will.  Behind  this  purpose  and 
will  there  must  be  deep  and  intense  feeling  born 
of  attention,  thought,  and  long  study,  mingled 
with  broad  sympathy  and  strong  scientific,  con- 
structive imagination. 

The  fittest  have  been  well  described  in  the 
closing  words  of  Professor  Huxley's  remarkable 
lecture  on  Evolution  and  Ethics. 

"  We  have  long  since  emerged  from  the 
heroic  childhood  of  our  race,  when  good  and  evil 
could  be  met  with  the  same  '  frolic  welcome  ' ; 
the  attempts  to  escape  from  evil,  whether  Indian 
or  Greek,  have  ended  in  flight  from  the  battle- 
field; it  remains  to  us  to  throw  aside  the  youth- 
ful overconfidence  and  the  no  less  youthful  dis- 
couragement of  nonage.  We  are  grov/n  men, 
and  must  play  the  man 

124 


Evolution  and  Faith 


*  strong  in  will 
To  strive,  to  seek,  to  find,  and  not  to  yield,' 

cherishing  the  good  that  falls  in  our  way,  and 
bearing  the  evil  in  and  around  us,  with  stout 
hearts  set  on  diminishing  it.  So  far  we  all  may 
strive  in  one  faith  toward  one  hope : 

*  It  may  be  that  the  gulfs  will  wash  us  down. 
It  may  be  we  shall  touch  the  Happy  Isles, 

but  something  ere  the  end. 

Some  work  of  noble  note  may  yet  be  done.'  " 

A  briefer  and  more  profound  description  of 
the  fittest  was  written  by  a  great  thinker  almost 
two  thousand  years  ago.  He  had  pondered  on 
the  history  of  his  nation,  and  especially  of  its 
greatest  leaders.  He  marshals  a  glorious  array 
of  great  souls.  There  are  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  berserkers  and  statesmen,  men  of  dif- 
ferent times  and  civilizations,  leaders  in  war  and 
in  peace,  differing  altogether  in  wealth,  social 
position,  mental  traits  and  endowments — all 
heroes.  Beneath  all  these  vast  differences  he 
finds  one  essential,  fundamental  agreement,  the 
common  root  of  all  their  forms  of  greatness. 
He  states  it  as  follows: 

''  All  these  died  in  faith,  not  having  received 

125 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 

the  promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and 
were  persuaded  of  them,  and  embraced  them,  and 
confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims 
on  the  earth."  Through  this  faith  "  out  of 
weakness  they  were  made  strong,  and  waxed  val- 
iant in  light." 

Everyone  saw  a  promise,  everyone  had  his 
own  vision,  no  two  exactly  the  same.  Everyone 
saw  it  at  first  dimly  and  afar,  but  kept  looking. 
He  was  not  superstitious  or  credulous,  but  never 
indifferent.  After  patient,  careful  attention  he 
became  persuaded.  The  promise,  which  was  so 
dim  and  vague  to  others,  had  become  clear  and 
cogent  to  him.  He  usually  felt  that  he  was  the 
last  and  least  fitted  of  all  to  realize  it;  but,  if 
no  one  else  would,  he  must.  He  gave  up  all  for 
its  attainment,  accomplished  great  things,  but 
died  before  its  realization. 

Faith  is  not  acceptance  of  outgrown  and  out- 
worn superstitions.  It  is  far  more  than  belief; 
more  even  than  the  working  hypothesis  of  a 
great  soul.  It  demands  and  includes  strength 
not  only  of  intellect,  but  of  heart  and  will.  A 
tough,  vigorous  body  is  almost  a  prime  requisite 
for  its  existence  and  endurance.  It  exercises  all 
the  powers  of  the  whole  man.     It  is  an  exceed- 

126 


Evohition  and  Faith 


ingly  virile  virtue,  and  tests  and  measures  man- 
hood. A  truly  great  man  is  characterized  by  a 
great  faith.  A  man  of  strong  faith  is  a  strong 
man  through  and  through.  A  man  of  weak  or 
little  faith  has  a  weak  spot  somewhere  or  Is  weak 
throughout.  Only  faith  can  ever  lead  a  for- 
lorn hope,  for  to  the  faithful  the  hope  Is  never 
forlorn. 

Above  all,  while  those  who  are  content  with 
present  and  temporary  dominance  may  walk  by 
sight,  the  fittest  must  walk  by  faith  fearlessly 
into  the  future.  Without  faith  progress  is  im- 
possible, and  evolution  becomes  but  another 
word  for  stagnation  and  degeneration  which  fits 
only  for  ultimate  extinction. 

There  are  three  critical  periods  in  the  devel- 
opment of  every  individual.  Childhood  is  the 
time  when  home  and  school  must  develop  the 
strong,  tough  body,  and  insure  physical  health. 
Youth  continues  the  physical  development,  main- 
tains and  increases  vigor,  and  adds  the  vision 
of  high  ideals.  It  is  the  period  of  the  rise  of 
the  truly  human  powers.  We  have  seen  Its  criti- 
cal importance.  The  centers  and  sources  of  edu- 
cation are  the  home,  the  school,  and  the  church. 

127 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


Young  man  and  maid  have  united  to  form  a 
family,  and  with  high  hopes  and  ideals  go  for- 
ward without  fear.  The  cares  of  life  thicken. 
The  father  has  to  earn  and  provide  house  and 
Kvelihood,  the  young  mother  must  make  a  home 
and  care  for  the  household.  Actual  life  is  very 
different  from  their  expectation.  It  seems  like 
a  monotonous  and  humdrum  round  instead  of  a 
swift  advance.  The  goal  of  their  hopes  is  far 
away,  and  seems  to  recede.  Progress  is  very 
slow.  Young  manhood  is  the  period  which  fur- 
nishes the  most  ardent  pessimists  and  many  of 
our  reformers.  They  are  learning  that  the  most 
useful  thing  in  life  is  the  ability,  not  to  fly  or 
to  run  without  wearying,  but  to  ''  walk  and  not 
faint."  This  is  the  critical  question:  Will  they 
keep  on  walking  when  they  can  no  longer  run, 
or  will  they  faint?  Their  wills  are  being  trained 
to  endure  and  overcome — the  hardest  and  most 
important  lesson  of  life.  But  the  glory  of  the 
struggle  is  hid  from  them;  what  they  see  is 
mainly  the  rough  back  of  the  pattern  which  they 
weave. 

Whether  they  will  hold  out  depends  prima- 
rily not  on  their  wealth,  learning,  or  present  suc- 
cess, but  on  the  persistence  of  their  faith.     If 

128 


Evolution  and  Faith 


faith  fails,  all  is  lost.  Here  home  and  school 
can  help  no  longer.  Only  the  church  remains  as 
the  center  of  this  highest  education  in  life.  They 
need  instruction.  They  need  far  more  hope, 
courage,  power,  inspiration,  the  true  interpreta- 
tion of  the  riddles  of  life  and  the  world,  the 
meaning  and  value  of  their  training,  mutual  aid 
and  support,  the  encouragement  of  hopeful  el- 
ders, the  inspiration  and  contagion  of  the  life  of 
great  souls  of  all  ages.  They  must  form  the 
habit  of  viewing  the  commonest  things  of  com- 
mon life  from  the  standpoint  of  the  distant  goal 
and  end,  and  thus  to  become  intelligent. 

When  Pilgrim  had  been  refreshed  and  in- 
structed in  the  Interpreter's  House  and  had  set 
out  for  the  Delectable  Mountains,  he  straight- 
way descended  into  the  Valley  of  Humiliation. 
Here  the  distant  view  was  lost,  and  clouds  and 
mist  settled  down;  he  found  pitfall  and  snare, 
bog  and  mire,  battle  and  wounds.  He  was  hard 
put  to  it.  Christiana  passed  that  way  later,  and 
is  told  by  Greatheart  that  that  valley  is  "  as 
fruitful  a  place  as  any  the  crow  flies  over." 
Happy  the  man  or  woman  who  has  a  Greatheart 
for  a  guide,  and  Hopeful,  Valiant-for-truth,  and 
old  Honest  for  companions  through  that  valley. 

129 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

Through  it  they  must  all  surely  go,  if  they  will 
reach  the  mount  of  attained  vision. 

But  once  more  we  must  examine  carefully  the 
foundation  of  reason  or  experience  on  which  the 
persuasion  of  faith  rests.  Once  again  we  must 
ask:  Does  the  man  who  fixes  his  eyes  and  stakes 
his  life  on  an  experiment  based  on  a  social, 
moral,  or  religious  promise,  build  on  something 
secure,  or  on  unreliable  dreams  and  groundless 
hopes?  This  question  will  occupy  our  attention 
in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER    VII 

RACIAL    EXPERIENCE 

THE  fittest  are  evidently  those  who  de- 
vote their  energy  and  effort  primarily 

to  the  development  of  the  highest  pow- 
ers of  greatest  capacity  and  promise.  The  an- 
cestral attainments  are  neither  suppressed  nor 
neglected.  Digestion  and  muscular  power, 
shrewdness  and  practical  wisdom,  all  are  kept 
at  their  best,  but  always  subordinated  to  the 
service  of  the  still  higher  powxr  or  faculty  not 
yet  fully  enthroned  and  supreme  in  the  race  or 
the  individual.  The  fittest  hold  fast  to  the  best 
in  the  past,  but,  being  progressive,  look  toward 
and  into  the  future.  Without  such  men  and 
women  evolution  is  impossible  and  stagnation 
sure. 

Faith  is  at  least  nothing  less  than  the  work- 
ing hypothesis  of  the  life  of  a  great  man.  The 
greater  the  man,  the  higher  and  farther  removed 
the  goal  of  his  life  and  efforts,  the  more  unat- 

10  131 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evoltttion 

tamable  his  Ideal  and  the  grander  his  faith. 
He  cannot  seize  and  utilize  all  the  possibilities 
of  the  present  and  the  future;  he  must  give  up 
some  very  real  and  tangible  present  advantages 
if  he  will  "  look  onward  to  the  truth."  Is  such 
faith  unscientific  and  unreasonable,  or  has  it  some 
sure  foundation — as  sure,  perhaps,  as  that  of  our 
knowledge?  This  is  the  vital  question  which 
confronts  us. 

Experience  is  the  best  teacher.  "  The  burnt 
child  dreads  the  fire."  The  child  in  his  plays  Is 
experimenting  with  himself  and  with  the  world 
— with  life.  Thus  he  grows  In  strength  and 
knowledge.  Family  life  gives  him  the  benefit  of 
the  experience  of  his  ancestors.  History  records 
for  him  the  experience  of  past  generations. 

Through  experiment  and  observation  we 
learn  many  facts  which  seem  to  us  almost  In- 
credible. The  chemist  tells  me  that  water  is 
composed  of  two  volumes  of  hydrogen  and  one 
of  oxygen;  that  of  these  gases  one  burns  read- 
ily and  the  other  supports  combustion.  I  know 
that  water  quenches  fire.  He  tells  me  that  quarts 
of  gas  are  compressed  or  united  In  a  few  drops 
of  water.  I  refuse  to  believe  him.  He  pro- 
ceeds before   my  eyes  to  unite   the  gases  into 

132 


Racial  Experience 


water,  and  to  break  up  water  into  the  gases.  I 
am  convinced  of  the  truth  of  his  statement. 
Similarly  I  grow  wise  in  life  by  trying  experi- 
ments and  by  watching  the  experiments  of  others. 

Some  one  tells  me  that  a  carp  or  crow  will 
live  to  be  one  hundred  years  old.  This  state- 
ment can  be  proved  or  disproved  by  experiment. 
But  it  will  take  a  long  time.  The  man  who  starts 
the  experiment  will  not  live  to  see  it  finished. 
Many  or  most  important  experiments  affecting 
human  life  and  happiness  require  more  than  one 
generation  for  their  completion. 

Many  experiments  which  affect  social  life  de- 
mand the  cooperation  of  many  men  through 
long  periods.  Is  slavery  right  or  wrong,  benefi- 
cent or  maleficent  in  modern  civilization?  We 
are  not  asking  now  whether  in  prehistoric  times 
it  was  better  than  putting  captives  to  death. 
The  question  was  settled  by  the  clash  of  civi- 
lizations, by  experiment  more  than  by  argument. 
The  free  civilization  outpopulated  and  outgrew 
its  rival.  It  cost  thousands  of  lives  and  millions 
of  money  to  settle  that  question.  But  the  solu- 
tion will  stand.  The  experiment  has  been  tried 
many  times  under  varied  conditions.  We  do  not 
need  to  try  it  again. 

133 


Man  171  the  Light  of  Evolution 

This  much  seems  clear.  Certain,  even  very 
metaphysical,  statements  have  a  direct  influence 
on  our  lives  and  change  them  for  good  or  evil. 
Whether  Galvanism  was  good  or  bad,  it  could 
"  set  up  a  line  of  battle."  So  could  Moham- 
medanism. Moral  and  religious  creeds  have 
molded  men's  lives  and  habits.  This  is  Indis- 
putable. Even  Mr.  Haeckel  freely  grants  that 
our  religious  creeds  have  done  much  harm. 
They  seriously  affect  life,  and  are  anything  but 
negligible  quantities. 

If  the  system  of  thought  molds  men  Into  con- 
formity with  environment,  they  will  survive,  and 
the  creed  will  endure  and  develop  with  them. 
Even  nations  superior  to  them  in  physical  power 
or  in  martial  discipline  and  prowess  may  be 
won  over  to  accept  It  from  them.  If  the 
creed  or  theory  molds  men  Into  conformity  with 
environment,  It  must  be  because  It  corresponds 
to  or  embodies  objective  reality  In  at  least  a  very 
fair  degree;  It  must  be  In  the  main  an  approach 
toward  truth.  If  not  truth  itself.  If  the  creed 
or  theory  leads  to  nonconformity  to  environ- 
ment, the  race  w^Ill  perish  sooner  or  later  and  Its 
creed  be  forgotten.  Thus  moral  and  religious 
creeds  and  systems  are  slowly  tested  and  verified 

134 


Racial  Experience 


or  disproved  by  actual  racial  experiments.  The 
results  are  recorded  and  handed  down  as  the 
verdict  of  history. 

You  may  say  that  natural  selection  is  not  as 
effective  in  man  as  in  lower  animals.  There  the 
fittest  survives.  But  fit  and  unfit  men  survive 
alike.  The  unfit  individual  keeps  alive  the  unfit 
creed  or  system.  Thus  the  means  of  verification 
which  apply  to  animal  appetites  lose  their  effi- 
ciency when  applied  to  human  beliefs.  This 
may  be  true  to  a  certain  extent.  But  while  in 
individuals  and  families  natural  selection  acts 
somewhat  more  slowly,  it  is  not  at  all  certain 
that  it  acts  any  less  surely.  But  a  system  or 
mode  of  thought  characterizes  nations  and  races 
even  more  really  than  individuals.  And  the  com- 
petition and  struggle  for  existence  between  rival 
races  and  civilizations,  even  when  silent  for  a 
long  time,  is  w^aged  even  more  relentlessly  than 
the  battle  between  rival  carnivora.  Here  natu- 
ral selection  works  as  relentlessly  as  ever,  and  the 
fittest  civilization  characterized  by  modes  of 
thought  best  conformed  to  environment,  and 
therefore  nearest  the  truth,  is  bound  to  survive 
and  to  impress  its  creed  on  future  generations. 

This  does  not  mean   that   "  whatever  is,    is 

135 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

right."  But  whatever  has  persisted  and  strength- 
ened through  past  ages,  whatever  has  stood  the 
storm  and  stress  of  time  since  man  arose  on  the 
globe,  whatever  has  survived  in  widely  different 
races  and  civilizations  and  under  widely  differ- 
ing conditions — this,  as  it  seems  to  me,  has  been 
sufficiently  tested.  It  has  been  verified  by  the 
grand  experiment  of  life,  and  has  won  the  ver- 
dict of  history.     It  must  survive. 

Conceptions  of  God  and  duty,  of  loyalty  and 
fidelity,  of  heroism  and  unselfishness,  have  in 
one  form  of  clothing  or  another  come  down  the 
ages  of  human  history.  Wherever  man  has 
tried  the  experiment  of  life  and  survived,  much 
more  if  he  has  at  the  same  time  advanced,  these 
conceptions  have  held  their  ground  and  grown 
and  improved,  and  have  strongly  molded  life  and 
character.  In  some  form  or  other  they  are  prac- 
tically universal.  The  religious  systems  of  sav- 
ages are  hard  to  discover;  they  are  not  talked 
of  before  strangers.  We  easily  misunderstand 
them.  But  we  are  continually  discovering  them 
where  their  existence  has  been  denied.  Man  is 
a  religious  being,  explain  it  how  you  will.  A 
second  fact  Is  that  these  moral  and  religious  con- 
ceptions are  the  mental  furnishings  or  characters 

136 


Racial  Experience 


which  most  sharply  distinguish  man,  and  have 
raised  him  above  the  unmoral  and  irreligious 
lower  animal.  They,  not  an  opposable  thumb  or 
ounces  of  brain,  are  the  real  human  character- 
istics. It  is  certainly  reasonable  to  expect  that 
they  will  dominate  progressive  man  in  the  future 
as  they  have  raised  him  to  his  present  condition. 

In  our  study  of  the  origin  of  family  and  social 
life  we  have  seen  that  these  conceptions  of  duty 
and  unselfishness  are  rooted  in  and  sprang  from 
mammalian  structure.  May  we  not  say  that  In 
a  sense  they  have  become  Incarnate  in  the  human 
brain?  Let  us  look  into  this  question  a  little 
closer. 

The  young  bee  does  not  need  to  be  taught 
how  to  build  a  cell ;  he  inherits  the  tendency  and 
most  of  the  necessary  knowledge.  The  same  is 
true  of  a  host  of  other  instincts.  The  shepherd 
dog  and  the  bird  dog  brought  up  in  the  house 
apart  from  birds  and  sheep  went,  the  one  after 
the  sheep  and  the  other  after  birds,  as  soon  as 
turned  loose  in  the  fields.  The  stimulus  of  the 
appropriate  object  was  all  that  was  necessary  to 
rouse  the  slumbering  inherited  Instinct  In  the 
brain. 

Instinct  Is  inherited,  but  Intelligence  Is  the  rc- 

137 


Malt  in  the  Light  of  Evolutioji 

suit  of  experience,  observation,  and  thought  of 
the  individual.  But  the  capacity  for  intelligence 
is  inherited.  Some  men  are  born  with  great  and 
some  with  limited  capacities.  These  tendencies 
and  capacities  will  be  modified  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent by  surrounding  conditions.  But  we  shall 
not  go  far  astray  if  we  consider  them  to  be  mainly 
the  result  of  heredity. 

These  inborn  capacities  vary  not  only  In 
amount  but  also  In  quality.  Some  men,  w^e  say, 
are  born  mathematicians,  linguists,  artists,  or  in- 
ventors. We  mean  that  they  have  large  capaci- 
ties along  these  special  lines.  The  whole  of  the 
political  or  theological  creed  of  some  men  seems 
to  have  been  Inherited.  They  were  born  Re- 
publicans or  Presbyterians,  and  no  earthly  power 
can  change  these  tendencies. 

Certain  tendencies  or  modes  of  thought  be- 
come so  marked  In  a  community  or  nation  that 
they  are  recognized  as  racial  characters.  Thus 
the  Jewish  race  has  been  characterized  by  its 
capacities  along  the  lines  of  business  and  relig- 
ion. It  has  never  been  especially  artistic.  The 
Greeks  were  aesthetic,  but  did  not  make  a  great 
success  of  morals  or  religion.  We  speak  of  the 
canny  Scotchman  and  the  shrewd  Yankee.     We 

138 


Racial  Experience 


may  easily  mistake  in  our  characterization,  but 
we  recognize  that  different  races  have  different 
Inherited  capacities  and  tendencies. 

The  fixedness  of  a  tendency  is  roughly  pro- 
portional to  the  length  of  time  during  which  it 
has  characterized  the  race.  One  well-fixed  tend- 
ency will  modify  to  a  large  extent  all  our  modes 
of  thought  and  our  views  on  all  questions.  It 
gives  us  the  standpoint  from  which  all  prob- 
lems are  vlew^ed  and  studied. 

But  early  environment  aids  the  fixedness  and 
spread  of  these  tendencies  and  habits  of  thought. 
The  young  child  Is  exceedingly  imitative,  and 
almost  as  open  to  suggestion  as  the  hypnotized 
patient.  The  mother,  busied  and  burdened  by 
cares  of  home  and  household,  regrets  that  she 
cannot  do  more  to  educate  her  children.  She 
forgets  that  her  Industry,  fidelity,  cheerfulness, 
poise  and  steadiness,  hope,  courage,  faith,  rever- 
ence, calmness,  kindliness,  and  courtesy  are  all 
reproducing  themselves  in  their  minds  and 
hearts.  The  child,  left  to  nurses,  acquires  the 
virtues  of  a  faithful  servant  or  the  vices  of  a 
hireling.  What  the  child  learns  from  books  by 
application  and  mental  effort  is  the  smallest  part 
of  his  acquisitions.     He  absorbs  almost  or  quite 

139 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

unconsciously.  He  has  learned  to  talk  by  imi- 
tating his  elders.  He  acquires  at  the  same  time 
their  peculiarities  of  dialect,  idioms,  pronuncia- 
tion, and  inflection.  These  acquisitions  crystal- 
lize in  habits  of  speech. 

In  later  life  he  becomes  conscious  that  some 
of  them  are  bad.  He  avoids  the  unfortunate 
habit  or  idiom,  and  is  on  his  guard  against  it. 
But  as  soon  as  he  relaxes  his  vigilance  and  be- 
comes his  real  self,  he  will  surely  return  to  it. 
Not  only  habits  of  speech  and  action,  but  prefer- 
ences and  aversions,  prejudices  and  superstitions, 
aesthetic  and  moral  standards,  and  even  religious 
tendencies,  arise  and  grow  and  take  form  as  the 
result  of  surrounding  conditions,  he  knows  not 
how.  But  these  habits  of  thought,  speech,  and 
action  soon  become  fixed  and  unchangeable,  and 
fashion  his  whole  life.  They  have  become  so 
deeply  rooted  that  he  believes  that  he  has  in- 
herited them.  He  cannot  imagine  himself  with- 
out them.  They  are  an  inheritance,  but  not  in- 
nate. He  was  not  born  with  them;  they  are  the 
result  of  early  environment. 

The  best-nurtured  family  of  children  has 
gained  thus  an  "  out-populating "  power,  to 
borrow  Dr.   BushnelFs   expression.      He   says: 

140 


Racial  Experience 


''  Qualities  of  education,  habit,  feeling,  and 
character  have  a  tendency  alv/ays  to  grow  in  by 
long  continuance,  and  become  thoroughly  inbred 
in  the  stock.  .  .  .  That  which  was  inculcated 
by  practice  passes  into  a  tendency,  and  descends 
as  a  natural  gift  or  endowment.  ...  A  race  of 
slaves  becomes  a  physiologically  servile  race. 
And  so  it  is  in  part  that  civilization  descends 
from  one  generation  to  another.  The  civiliza- 
tion is  in  great  part  inbred  civility. 

*'  The  populating  power  of  any  race  or  stock 
is  increased  according  to  the  degree  of  personal 
and  religious  character  to  which  it  has  attained. 
Good  principles  and  habits,  intellectual  culture, 
domestic  virtue,  industry,  order,  law,  faith — all 
these  go  immediately  to  enhance  the  rate  and 
capacity  of  population.  They  make  a  race  pow- 
erful, not  in  the  mere  military  sense,  but  in  one 
that,  by  century-long  reaches  of  populating 
force,  lives  down  silently  any  mere  martial  com- 
petitor. Any  people  that  Is  physiologically  ad- 
vanced in  culture,  though  it  be  only  in  a  degree, 
beyond  another  which  Is  mingled  with  it  on 
strictly  equal  terms  Is  sure  to  live  down  and 
finally  to  live  out  its  Inferior.  Nothing  can  save 
the  inferior  race  but  a  ready  and  pliant  assimi- 

141 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

lation."  These  are  only  scant  extracts  from  the 
remarkable  essay  published  almost  fifty  years 
ago.i 

Thus  in  many  ways  these  grand  conceptions 
of  duty,  fidelity,  heroism,  and  unselfishness  tend 
to  become  more  and  more  deeply  ingrained  in 
the  life  and  structure  of  the  individual  and  of 
society,  and  to  spread  and  gain  a  universal 
sway.  Because  of  our  deep  confidence  in  these 
truths  and  their  practically  universal  acceptance 
in  some  form  and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
some  have  compared  them  to  axioms. 

*'  At  the  end  of  every  demonstration,"  says 
Mr.  Fiske,  "  we  must  reach  an  axiom  for  the 
truth  of  which  our  only  test  is  the  inconceiva- 
bility of  its  negation."  But  why  cannot  I  con- 
ceive of  the  negation  of  an  axiom?  Says  Mr. 
Fiske  again :  "  Our  minds  being  that  which  in- 
tercourse with  environment  has  made  them 
(both  their  own  intercourse  and  that  of  ancestral 
minds),  it  follows  that  our  indestructible  beliefs 
must  be  the  registry  of  that  intercourse,  must  be 
necessarily  true,  not  because  they  are  independ- 

1  See  Bushnell,  H.,  "Christian  Nurture,"  Chapter  VIII, 
pp.  202,  207. 

142 


Racial  Experiejice 


ent  of  experience,  but  because  they  are  the  only 
complete  unqualified  expression  of  It."  ^ 

I  believe  that  a  straight  line  Is  the  shortest 
path  between  two  points.  I  cannot  demonstrate 
this,  if  you  wish  to  deny  It.  But  I  cannot  con- 
ceive of  the  contrary  or  negation  of  the  state- 
ment. One  good  and  sufficient  explanation  of 
this  fact  Is  that  the  Invariable  experience  of  all 
my  ancestors  from  fish,  or  even  worm,  upward 
has  been  that  It  was  shorter  to  go  straight  across 
than  around.  If  any  animals  persisted  In  going 
around,  they  failed  to  "  get  there  "  and  did  not 
survive.  This  may  not  be  the  only  explanation. 
Experience  may  not  be  the  sole  source  of  knowl- 
edge. But  It  Is  one  source,  and  the  experience 
of  the  ages  becomes  impressed  upon  the  very 
structure  of  the  brain. 

To  be  axiomatic  a  truth  must  be  accepted  by 
everybody  except  the  insane  and  the  Incapable. 
They  are  not  bound  to  accept  anything,  and  are 
in  this  sense  exceedingly  liberal  and  broad- 
minded.  Indeed,  some  men  have  such  broad 
minds  that  they  can  hold  at  the  same  time  con- 
flicting  and  mutually   destructive   views.      The 

^  See  Fiske,  J.,  "Cosmic  Philosophy,"  pp.  59,  65. 


Man  ill  the  Light  of  Evolution 

existence  of  a  God  and  the  claims  of  duty  are 
considered  by  some  as  axiomatic.  This  they  can 
hardly  be,  for  they  are  not  acknowledged  by 
some  capable,  thoughtful,  and  apparently  sane 
men.  They  may  be  in  a  fair  way  to  become 
axiomatic,  and  future  man  may  thus  regard 
them. 

We  have  seen  how  the  life  of  the  primitive 
tribe  educated  men  to  ideas  of  right,  duty,  hero- 
ism, and  God.  For,  in  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence between  tribes,  that  one  survived  which 
had  these  instincts,  if  I  may  so  call  them,  most 
deeply  rooted  and  strongly  developed,  or  which 
most  readily  accepted  them  from  others  and 
made  them  their  own.  Human  experience, 
therefore,  through  long  ages,  in  all  times  and 
places,  under  the  most  varying  conditions,  has 
tested  them  and  proven  their  value  and  truth. 
They  have  become  a  part  of  the  furnishing 
of  the  human  mind.  They  always  will  and 
must  be  reckoned  with,  whether  we  will  or  not. 
We  may  neglect  them  or  banish  them  to  the 
most  remote  corners  of  our  minds,  we  may 
try  to  forget  them.  But  they  stay  with  us  to 
curse  if  we  refuse  or  neglect  to  call  them  in 
to  bless. 

144 


Racial  Experience 


Of  course  these  conceptions  are  not  present 
full-blown  In  the  mind  of  the  child.  Put  hydro- 
gen and  oxygen  together  In  a  receiver.  There 
Is  no  water  there,  but  pass  a  spark  through  and 
there  will  be.  The  molecules  of  the  gas  will  leap 
together  In  liquid  drops.  Where  are  the  leaves, 
branches,  and  acorns  In  the  germ  of  an  oak? 
Keep  the  germ  under  proper  conditions  and  en- 
vironment win  call  all  these  forth  In  due  order 

m 

and  season. 

So  In  the  brain  of  the  child  the  combinations 
are  all  prepared,  and  the  stimulus  of  a  proper 
environment  will  call  forth  the  conceptions.  In 
the  embryo  the  rods  and  cones  of  the  retina  of 
the  eye  are  all  formed  In  complete  darkness,  as 
also  the  nerve  paths  along  which  the  vibrations 
called  forth  by  the  light  as  yet  unknown  will 
travel  to  form  Images  In  the  brain.  The  child 
opens  Its  eyes  and  sees  the  world,  though  dimly 
and  partially  at  first.  No  Images  reach  the 
brain,  only  vibrations  pass  along  the  optic  nerve. 
It  required  thousands  of  years  for  the  worm  to 
develop  an  eye  capable  of  forming  an  Image  and 
a  brain  capable  of  translating  the  vibrations  of 
the  nerve.  The  Infant  learns  all  this  In  a  few 
hours  or  days.  If  he  needs  to  learn  It  at  all. 

145 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

Its  brain  has  already  been  prepared  to  respond 
to  the  stimuli  of  the  light  vibrations  by  form- 
ing an  image  in  the  mind. 

Something  in  the  very  structure  of  the  child's 
brain  leads  him  to  accept  the  grand  generaliza- 
tion that  like  causes  will  produce  like  effects  long 
before  he  knows  anything  about  cause  or  effect 
in  the  abstract.  He  does  not  need  to  burn  his 
fingers  more  than  once  or  twice  to  learn  to 
always  let  hot  things  alone. 

When  in  all  times  and  places  men  awaken  to 
some  conception  of  some  kind  of  right  and  duty 
and  of  God,  when  all  these  conceptions,  how- 
ever different  in  many  respects,  always  agree  in 
certain  fundamental  characteristics,  is  not  the 
presence  of  a  certain  mental  structure,  waiting 
to  be  awakened  by  the  touch  of  something  real 
in  environment,  the  most  natural  explanation  of 
so  grand  and  surprising  a  fact? 

But  our  religious  beliefs,  and  our  moral  be- 
liefs in  only  a  less  degree,  will  become  axiomatic 
only  in  a  very  distant  future,  if  ever.  It  never 
suits  my  inclination  or  my  interest  to  deny  an 
axiom  of  mathematics.  Why  should  I  ever  care 
to  do  so?  But,  unfortunately,  it  frequently  suits 
my    inclination    and   sometimes   my    immediate 

146 


Racial  Experience 


interest  to  forget  or  stifle  or  fail  to  hear  the 
claims  of  God  and  duty.  They  are  often  un- 
conventional and  inconvenient  articles  of  mental 
furniture.  We  may  prefer  to  think  or  talk  of 
them  as  little  as  possible. 

These  sometimes  inconvenient  and  disagree- 
able conceptions  which  are  not  axiomatic,  but 
which  are  so  interwoven  with  the  fibers  and 
stuff  of  my  brain  that  I  cannot  tear  them  out, 
are  what  I  will  call  convictions.  They  are  In- 
herited results  of  racial  experience.  They  have 
stood  the  test  of  life,  and  have  won  the  favor- 
able verdict  of  biological  history.  They  have 
made  man  what  he  is.  If  we  are  to  progress 
they  must  dominate  our  minds.  If  our  civiliza- 
tion survives  It  will  be  because  It  Is  the  most 
adequate  and  complete  expression  of  these  con- 
ceptions.    They  are  our  most  priceless  heritage. 

Wealth  and  social  Institutions  are  Instruments 
for  their  use  and  spread.  Intellect  and  learning 
tell  us  how  their  ruling  motives  may  best  find 
expression  and  how  their  ends  may  be  attained. 
They  alone  can  give  any  unity  to  the  life  which 
they  must  permeate.  Without  them  the  energies 
of  life  dissipate  like  steam  from  an  open  vessel. 
They  never  fail  us.  When  in  the  storms  of  life 
11  147 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


everything  else — fortune,  friends,  opinions,  and 
beliefs — has  gone  adrift,  they  remain.  We  lose 
them  only  with  our  lives,  if  even  then. 

When  these  are  supreme,  men  and  civiliza- 
tions are  at  their  best.  Think  of  the  Jews  under 
the  Maccabees,  of  Holland  under  WilHam  the 
Silent,  of  England  under  Cromwell,  of  Bohemia 
under  Ziska.  In  every  case  the  leader  incarnated 
the  convictions  which  stirred  and  inspired  his 
followers.  Great  social  and  political  move- 
ments owe  their  strength  to  the  fact  that  they 
appeal  to  the  convictions  of  the  people.  They 
may,  or  may  not,  appeal  to  their  present  inter- 
ests. The  statesman  takes  this  into  account  \ 
while  the  politician  is  busy  counting  or  buying  ^ 
votes.  Whoever  said  that  a  statesman  was 
only  a  dead  politician  must  have  been  a  staunch 
Universalist.  But  the  thought  adds  to  our  long- 
ing for  more  statesmen. 

The  successful  orator  is  he  who  can  appeal  to 
these  convictions.  Mr.  Everett  was  a  great  or- 
ator, and  his  oration  at  Gettysburg  was  no  mean 
effort.  How  many  of  us  remember  what  he  said  ? 
Mr.  Lincoln  added  a  few  words.  He  spoke 
out  of  the  full  heart  of  a  great  patriot,  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  deepest  convictions  of  every  citizen 

148 


Racial  Experience 


of  the  land.  No  one  can  forget  that  he  spoke 
or  what  he  said. 

What  was  the  source  of  Mr.  Wendell  Phil- 
lips's power.  Not  his  logic,  for  he  had  none. 
Much  was  due  to  his  silvery  voice  and  marvel- 
ous dignity  and  grace  of  bearing.  He  owed 
more  to  his  classic  culture,  to  the  purity  and 
clearness  of  his  style,  to  his  power  of  calm  and 
withering  sarcasm.  These  helped  with  the  coun- 
try people  to  whom  he  loved  to  speak. 

But  others  had  these  powers  in  only  less  de- 
gree. He  spoke  straight  to  the  convictions  and 
hearts  of  the  folk,  and  they  arose  and  followed 
him.  The  man  who  can  thus  speak  does  not 
need  to  drag  or  compel  them.  They  are  eager 
to  follow.  !  He  "  speaks  with  authority,  and  not 
as  the  scribes." 

We  say  of  a  great  poem  or  other  piece  of 
literature  that  it  is  universal.  We  mean  that 
it  embodies  the  experience  of  all  times  and 
places.  It  appeals  to  our  common  store  of  con- 
victions. 

Teaching  is  not  the  addition  or  superposition 
by  the  teacher  of  a  new  thought  or  conception 
or  bit  of  knowledge  on  top  of  the  old  ones 
formerly  possessed  by  the   pupil.      For  if  the 

149 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 

thought  is  Imposed  from  without  it  will  probably 
be  and  remain  "  new  cloth  on  an  old  garment." 
It  remains  a  patch,  something  foreign.  The 
new  thought  must  be  a  growth,  stimulated,  in- 
deed, by  the  teacher,  if  it  is  to  form  any  real 
part  of  the  pupil's  mind  and  life. 

Learned  and  often  far-seeing  men  frequently 
fail  of  influence  in  the  community  just  because 
they  strive  by  sheer  weight  of  learning  or 
argument  or  by  dialectic  skill  to  force  a  new 
thought  upon  the  minds  of  their  fellows.  They 
try  to  make  them  see  something  which  they  have 
never  seen  before.  They  fail  ignominiously. 
People  object,  very  wrongly  undoubtedly,  but 
universally  and  naturally,  to  be  conquered  by 
weight  of  argument  or  skill  in  logic.  The  new 
truth  does  not  fit  in  well  with  the  conceptions 
already  in  possession  of  their  minds.  Even  if 
lodged  in  the  mind  as  a  persuasion,  It  remains 
foreign  and  bears  little  fruit. ^ 

Socrates  had  a  far  more  excellent  way. 
When  he  would  open  men's  minds  to  a  new 
thought  or  truth  or  their  eyes  to  a  grander  vl- 

1  Cf.  Stevenson,  R.  L.,  "  Familiar  Studies,  Walt  Whit- 
man," Chapter  I,  close. 

150 


Racial  Experience 


slon,  he  never  tried  to  impress  this  upon  them 
as  something  new  and  strange.  He  led  them  to 
see  that  the  new  thought  or  vision  was  really 
Included  In  what  they  already  knew,  or  a  nat- 
ural outgrowth  from  the  old.  If  the  hearer  was 
honest,  the  new  truth  was  heartily  welcomed,  be- 
came an  Integral  part  of  his  thought,  and  modi- 
fied all  his  modes  of  seeing  and  thinking.  The 
man  whose  life  and  work  Is  based  upon  these 
convictions  which  have  crystallized  out  of  ra- 
cial experience  can  afford  to  be  tolerant.  Intol- 
erance characterizes  the  opinionated  man,  not 
the  man  of  strong  convictions.  Indeed,  the  two 
are  totally  unlike.  Our  strong  man  sees  that  at 
the  bottom  of  every  great  social  or  political 
movement  there  always  has  been  and  always 
must  be  some  grand  truth,  with  however  much 
error  It  may  be  mixed.  He  knows  that  the  sup- 
porters of  the  new  doctrine  must  hold  the  same 
fundamental  convictions  with  himself.  He  sus- 
pects that  the  new  party  has  arisen  because  his 
own  has  forgotten  or  neglected  some  Important 
truth  or  aspect  of  truth.  He  may  be  a  staunch 
Republican,  and  yet  refuse  to  believe  that  all 
Democrats  and  Socialists  are  knaves  or  liars. 
He  may  be  and  ought  to  be  very  intolerant  of 

151 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evoltttion 

error,  and  yet  very  tolerant  toward  his  fallible 
neighbors.  He  sets  himself  to  find  out  what  is 
the  new  or  forgotten  truth  which  the  opposing 
party  is  emphasizing.  When  by  careful  anal- 
ysis and  study  he  has  found  it,  he  works  with 
patient  wisdom  to  embody  it  in  the  views  of  his 
fellows. 

He  hears  continually  that  some  new  heresy  is 
undermining  men's  confidence  in  all  the  old 
arguments  for  great  truths;  that  men  will  soon 
cease  to  hold  the  old  truth;  that  religion  and 
morality,  church  and  society,  are  all  going  to  the 
dogs  together.  He  recognizes  that  the  con- 
victions on  which  religion  and  society  rest  are 
the  result  of  racial  experience,  and  that  they  are 
indefinitely  older  than  the  arguments  by  which 
they  are  now  supposed  to  be  supported.  The 
arguments  may  change  or  disappear  without 
affecting  one  particle  of  the  strength  or  truth  of 
the  conviction.  "  Nothing,"  says  Balfour,  *'  so 
quickly  waxes  old  as  apologetics,  unless,  perhaps, 
it  be  criticism."  ^ 

Our  man  of  convictions  sprung  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  ages  sees  a  wave  of  insanity  pass 

1  Balfour,  A.  J.,  **  Foundations  of  Belief,"  p.  226. 

152 


Racial  Experietice 


over  the  country.  People  seem  to  be  going  mad, 
and  to  be  forgetting  all  wisdom  or  decency. 
He  knows  that  the  old  racial  convictions  have 
outlasted  many  a  similar  storm.  Other  things — 
prosperity,  credit,  fortunes,  theories,  opinions, 
and  beliefs — may  be  wrecked  or  vanish,  but 
these  old  fundamental  convictions  will  regain 
their  supremacy;  from  these  all  else  will  arise 
anew  In  fairer  form.  He  can  be  hopeful  when 
others  despair.     Time  and  he  are  two. 

He  Is  patient  and  does  not  make  haste.  He 
does  not  hope  to  revolutionize  the  world  to-day 
or  to-morrow.  He  would  not  If  he  could. 
Time  and  he  are  more  than  two,  for  environ- 
ment with  all  Its  forces  Is  on  his  side.  "  The 
stars  In  their  courses  fight  for  him."  He  does 
not  wish  to  Implant  his  own  beliefs  full  grown 
In  the  minds  of  his  neighbors,  but  rather  that 
they  should  develop  their  own.  He  prefers  to 
sow  the  seed  and  let  It  spring.  He  rejoices  In 
the  blade  and  growing  ear,  and  knows  that  the 
full  corn  will  come  In  Its  own  time.  If  wise,  he 
does  not  attempt  to  force  the  growth,  while  he 
encourages  and  fosters  It  with  every  means  In 
his  power.    He  can  afford  to  wait. 

Finally,  a  man  who  has  strong  convictions  and 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

thus  a  clear  vision  of  the  ends  of  hfe,  who  works 
toward  these  ends  patiently,  steadily,  without 
haste  and  without  discouragement,  is  in  a  fair 
way  to  become  exceedingly  wise.  He  never 
doubts  that  life  is  well  worth  living,  and  worthy 
of  his  best,  strongest,  and  most  enduring  efforts. 
He  says  with  the  poet : 

"  This  world's  no  blot  for  us 
Nor  blank.      It  means  intensely  and  means  good." 

All  his  powers — physical,  mental,  and  moral — 
are  called  into  action  as  means  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  great  ends. 

He  finds  very  soon  that,  while  the  end  remains 
ever  the  same,  conditions  are  ever  shifting,  and 
demanding  new  means  or  modes  of  meeting 
them.  He  skillfully  adapts  the  new  means  to 
the  old  ends. 

The  pilot  makes  for  the  same  harbor  a  hun- 
dred or  more  times.  Harbor  and  channel,  light- 
house and  buoys,  remain  the  same.  But  wind, 
tide,  and  current  shift  continually,  and  he  must 
set  sail  and  rudder  accordingly.  Now  he  comes 
in  on  a  straight  course  with  rapid  progress. 
Again  he  has  to  beat  against  wind  and  tide;  his 
progress  is  slow  and  his  course  tortuous.     But 

154 


Racial  Experience 


he  is  all  the  time  making  for  the  same  point. 
Every  turn  of  the  helm  and  swing  of  the  sails 
has  Its  reason  and  proves  his  skill.  Sometimes 
he  creeps  in  the  mist  by  dead  reckoning,  not  hav- 
ing seen  sun  nor  star  for  many  a  day.  But 
through  it  all  he  keeps  his  sails  set  and  his  rud- 
der true. 

Only  the  motives  which  spring  from  these 
racial  convictions  are  worthy  of  and  adequate 
to  the  vast  powers  of  the  human  mind.  Roused 
by  these  and  steadily  held  to  his  purpose,  man 
becomes  a  being  of  Titanic  power.  He  cannot 
flinch  In  the  fight  or  weary  in  the  race.  He 
*'  fights  a  good  fight  and  finishes  the  course." 

Everyone  of  us  has  met  some  such  men  and 
women.  They  are  stout-hearted,  cheery,  hope- 
ful, wise,  calm,  patient,  and  heroic,  with  Iron  In 
their  blood,  granite  in  their  souls,  and  sunshine 
on  their  faces.  The  old  prophet  had  such  in 
mind  when  he  said: 

"  A  man  shall  be  as  a  hiding  place  from  the 
wind  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest;  as  rivers 
of  water  In  a  dry  place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock  in  a  weary  land." 

Such  people  are  the  '^  shadow  of  a  great  rock," 
and  when  we  are  weary,  baffled,  defeated,  and 

155 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

disheartened,  when  all  day  long  we  have  been 
fighting  In  the  mist,  how  good  It  Is  to  rest  In 
their  shade !  Their  words  may  be  few,  their 
"  speech  rude,  and  their  bodily  presence  con- 
temptible." But  we  feel  their  strength.  We 
lean  against  them  for  a  little  time,  and  we  go 
away  refreshed,  strong,  hopeful,  courageous. 
Virtue  has  gone  out  of  them  and  Into  us.  This 
is  no  theory,  but  a  statement  of  universal  ex- 
perience. 

There  is  no  contaglum  in  the  world  like  that 
of  a  strong  personality.  We  would  not  resist 
it  if  we  could.  We  would  give  anything  to  be 
infected.  Everywhere  such  men  and  women 
carry  strength  and  courage  to  others.  One  such 
man  Infects  a  whole  community  or  race,  molds 
a  civilization,  and  changes  the  course  of  history. 
For  this  reason  history  is  summed  up  In  the  lives 
of  heroes. 

If  we  have  failed  to  realize  this  we  may  well 
read  our  history  all  over  again  from  the  story 
of  Gideon  and  his  three  hundred  to  that  of 
Socrates  in  Athens,  of  Napoleon  at  LodI,  and 
of  Sheridan  at  Winchester.  Such  men  are  not 
merely  beacon  lights,  they  are  makers  of  history. 

The  same  principle  applies  In  literature.     At 

156 


Racial  Experience 


the  end  of  a  hard  day's  work  we  drop  in  on 
neighbor  Snagsby — provided  that  Mrs.  S.  Is 
away  from  home — or  make  our  very  best  bow 
to  that  gracious  lady  Miss  Esther  Summerson,  or 
sit  awhile  with  Colonel  Newcome,  or  keep 
Twelfth  Night  with  dear  old  Sir  Toby,  or  wan- 
der far  afield  with  some  more  respected  Shake- 
spearean character.  After  a  time  the  Irritations 
of  the  day  are  forgotten.  A  feeling  steals  over 
us,  wx  know  not  whence,  why,  or  how,  that  life 
is  not  half  bad,  and  that  It  Is  worth  while  to  be 
decent  and  even  courteous. 

The  men  and  women  who  have  this  strength 
and  carry  this  contagium  may  be  rich  or  poor, 
learned  or  unlearned.  Intellectual  or  possessed 
mainly  of  what  we  call  common  sense.  They 
are  not  limited  to  any  walk  of  life.  Great  mate- 
rial prosperity  does  not  generally  breed  a  great 
crop  of  this  kind  of  character.  They  have  gen- 
erally come  out  of  much  tribulation.  You  can- 
not raise  heroes  in  bandboxes,  or  make  a  Damas- 
cus or  a  ^'  true  Jerusalem  "  blade  without  ham- 
mering. If  we  will  but  search  for  them,  we  can 
find  them  in  all  times  and  circumstances.  If 
we  do  not  find  them,  the  fault  is  in  us.  Where- 
ever  they  occur,  they  are  always  leaders,  though 

157 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

they  may  not  suspect  It.  They  are  the  real  kings 
and  queens.  Their  power  for  good  is  inestima- 
ble. The  great  advantage  of  social  life,  as  a 
means  of  conformity  to  environment,  is  the  me- 
dium which  it  furnishes  to  conduct  the  power  of 
such  men  and  women. 

Man's  last  effort  to  conform,  the  struggle  for 
existence  in  its  highest  and  most  real  form,  is  the 
life  and  death  grapple  between  good  and  evil. 
Here  good  and  evil,  right  and  wrong,  truth  and 
falsehood,  come  face  to  face.  Life  is  more  than 
a  game  of  chess  ^  or  chance.  It  is  a  battle,  in 
which  every  one  must  take  part;  he  must  fight 
or  die. 

The  real  kings  are,  as  a  rule,  on  the  side  of 
truth  and  aid  its  triumph.  One  essential  of  such 
leadership  as  we  have  been  studying  is  the  power 
to  inspire  confidence  in  the  king.  A  suspicion 
of  selfish  aims  in  the  leader  breaks  the  bonds 
and  rouses  revolt.  The  hero  must  be  self-forget- 
ful. This  is  one  reason  for  hero-worship  and 
for  the  hero's  magnetic  power.  But  evil  is  es- 
sentially selfish,  and  can  hold  the  throne  only  as 
long  as  it  can  deceive. 

^  Huxley,  T.  H.,  "Lay  Sermons/*  p.  31. 

158 


Racial  Experience 


These  kings  "  live  forever."  Dynasties  and 
empires  disappear,  but  Socrates  and  Plato,  Lu- 
ther and  Huss,  Cromwell  and  Lincoln,  rule  an 
ever-widening  empire  of  ever  more  loyal  sub- 
jects. Society  will  have  leaders.  Men  may  set 
up  whatever  form  of  government  they  will,  they 
are  always  searching  for  a  king. 

This  is  no  sign  of  weakness  or  credulity. 
Man's  desire  for  leadership  is  only  another 
proof  of  the  vast  future  which  he  knows  is  be- 
fore him,  and  into  which  he  desires  to  be  led. 
The  wiser  a  man  is,  the  more  he  desires  to  be 
taught;  the  nobler  he  Is,  the  more  whole-souled 
is  the  homage  which  he  pays  to  the  noblest.  Is 
it  a  sign  of  weakness  or  Ignorance  in  students 
of  adult  age  to  flock  to  some  great  university 
to  hear  the  wisdom  and  catch  the  inspiration  of 
the  master  mind?  When  Jackson  fell,  Lee  ex- 
claimed, "  I  have  lost  my  right  arm."  Was 
Jackson  any  the  less  for  being  the  right  arm 
to  deal,  as  only  he  could,  the  crushing  blows 
planned  by  the  great  strategist? 

These  men  and  women  are  the  salt  which 
keeps  society  sweet,  and  the  leaven  which  raises 
It.  They  form  a  real  though  unrecognized 
hierarchy.     Some  stand  in  high  positions,  while 

159 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

others  do  the  same  work  in  lower  places  and 
more  limited  spheres.  England  did  not  think  or 
care  much  about  Sergeant  What-is-name,  but  the 
sergeant  made  history. 

"  Though  he  drilled  a  black  man  white,  though  he  made  a 

mummy  fight, 
He  will  still  continue  Sergeant  What-is-name — 
Private,  Corporal,  Color-Sergeant,  and  Instructor — 
But  the  everlasting  miracle's  the  same."  ^ 

This  Is  the  everlasting  miracle  of  life  worked 
unconsciously  but  continually  by  these  loyal  fol- 
lowers of  the  convictions  founded  on  racial  ex- 
perience. 

There  can  be  no  surer  form  of  knowledge 
than  that  which  has  crystallized  out  of  racial 
experience  during  past  ages.  But  while  rooted 
In  the  past,  it  looks  largely  toward  the  future 
for  its  triumphs  and  rewards.  Faith  In  the  fu- 
ture is  no  less  sure  or  reasonable  than  our  knowl- 
edge of  many  present  things.  But  the  present 
looms  large  before  every  eye.  The  future  must 
be  somewhat  or  considerably  less  distinct.    "  We 

^  Kipling,  R,,  "Pharaoh  and  the  Sergeant,"  McClures 
Magazine,  1897,  vol.  ix,  p.  925. 

160 


Racial  Experience 


cannot  see,  much  less  feel  quite  assured  of,  the 
*'  upper  side  of  the  pattern."  The  future  event 
and  far-off  goal  remains  visible  only  to  him  who 
fixes  his  attention  and  gazes  upon  It.  It  requires 
an  effort  to  prevent  ourselves  from  becoming 
nearsighted.  There  Is  In  faith  an  element  of 
win  which  Is  lacking  In  knowledge;  It  Is  the  more 
virile  virtue  of  the  leader  and  pioneer.  But  we 
must  carefully  notice  the  place  where  the  will 
comes  In.  Not  In  the  glimpse  of  the  far-off 
promise,  nor  In  the  persuasion  of  Its  reality  and 
certainty.  These  rest  on  racial  experience  and 
are  almost  Instinctive.  But  the  will  Is  needed  to 
hold  the  attention  and  thought  fixed  upon  that 
of  which  we  have  become  persuaded  until  we 
can  follow  and  realize  It. 

Knowledge  Is  continually  improving  and  In- 
creasing. Theories  of  to-day  are  swallowed  up 
to-morrow  in  some  broader  generalization  or 
law  or  wider  or  deeper  view.  Outgrown  the- 
ories are  as  stale  and  unprofitable  as  supersti- 
tions. This  must  be  true  as  knowledge  broadens 
and  deepens.  But  the  far-off  goal  on  which  the 
eye  of  faith  is  fixed  neither  shifts  nor  changes. 
Every  step  toward  it  Is  a  permanent  gain,  and 
need  never  be  retraced.     Every  advance  makes 

i6i 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

the  goal  clearer,  more  distinct,  and  more  attrac- 
tive, and  thus  increases  knowledge  and  strength- 
ens faith.  Neither  knowledge  nor  faith  can 
safely  say  to  the  other:  "  I  have  no  need  of 
thee."  Each  has  its  own  place,  and  the  two 
supplement  each  other.  It  must  be  so  In  any 
case  Involving  progress  Into  the  future. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

CONFORMITY   TO    ENVIRONMENT 

THE  most  remarkable  characteristic   of 
the  living  substance  is  its  adaptability. 

It  does  a  great  variety  of  work  under 
the  most  varying  conditions.  The  simplest  one- 
celled  plants  and  animals  live  in  fresh  water  and 
salt,  of  all  degrees  of  purity  or  foulness,  of 
varying  temperature,  impregnated  with  differ- 
ent substances.  The  bacteria  go  almost  every- 
where. 

Similarly  the  complex  higher  animal  is  contin- 
ually becoming  adapted  to  new  conditions,  and 
varies  accordingly.  No  sooner  does  a  form  be- 
come well  established  than  it  begins  to  attempt, 
as  it  were,  to  adapt  itself  to  live  under  all  possi- 
ble surroundings.  The  primitive  reptile  crept  on 
the  ground.  Its  descendants  adapted  themselves 
to  live  in  marsh,  jungle,  upland,  lake,  river,  and 
sea.  Some  flew  in  the  air.  They  lived  on  very 
different  kinds  of  food.     This  tendency  toward 

12  163 


Mmi  in  tJie  Light  of  Evolution 

"  adaptive  radiation,"  ^  or  divergence  in  all  di- 
rections, mitigates  the  severity  of  competition 
within  the  species  or  group,  opens  new  doors  for 
survival,  and  gives  the  possibility  of  progress  or 
degeneration.  It  enables  the  weaker  form  to 
discover  a  harbor  of  refuge  and  here  survive,  as 
it  could  nowhere  else.  Fresh  water  and  the  deep 
sea  have  always  been  the  refuge  of  defeated 
forms. 

This  tendency  has  its  dangerous  side.  The 
animal  is  continually  tempted  to  forsake  the  up- 
ward line  of  march,  and  to  seek  some  easier  or 
more  attractive  path.  Alluring  side  paths  are 
very  numerous  and  always  open.  Every  new  at- 
tainment of  the  animal  gives  it  the  opportunity 
for  new  experiments  and  adaptations.  Every 
stage  Is  a  center  from  which  forms  radiate  in  all 
directions  seeking  surer  survival  or  easier  life. 

But  usually  only  one  path,  one  set  of  habits, 
adaptation  to  only  one  group  of  surroundings, 
leads  to  progress  and  fitness.  All  others  lead  to 
stagnation    or   degeneration.      Temporary   sur- 

^  Osbom,  H.  F.,  "Adaptive  Radiation,"  Amer.  Nat.,  vol. 
xxxvi,  1902,  p.  353.  See  also  articles  in  vols,  xxxvii  and 
xxxviii. 

164 


Confonnity  to  Environment 

vival  Is  after  all  comparatively  easy,  but  prog- 
ress Is  the  difficult  matter.  Food  Is  usually 
abundant,  enemies  can  be  avoided  or  foiled  In 
many  ways.  Progress  seems  usually  to  have  oc- 
curred only  or  mainly  under  the  spur  of  necessity. 
The  great  danger  seems  to  be  that  the  animal 
will  develop  some  structure  which  Is  temporarily 
advantageous,  but  which  will  in  time  make  fur- 
ther progress  impossible.  We  have  seen  that 
this  was  evidently  the  mistake  of  mollusks  and 
Insects,  and  at  the  same  time  of  all  forms  which 
are  represented  by  the  side  branches  of  our  gene- 
alogical tree.  All  promised  well  at  first.  Many 
attained  survival  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  But 
no  one  of  these  attained  permanent  progress. 
This  was  reserved  for  forms  In  the  middle  as- 
cending stem  of  the  tree,  the  line  leading  straight 
upward  to  man. 

The  great  problem  for  animals  and  man  seems 
to  be  not  how  to  get  a  living,  but  how  to  live 
so  as  to  Insure  advance ;  not  so  much  to  seek  out 
new,  easy,  and  promising  radiating  lines  of  live- 
lihood as  avoiding  these  to  follow  the  one  up- 
ward path.  Even  extinction  is  in  many  cases  the 
result  of  so  complete  conformity  to  conditions 
which  arc  transitory  that,  when  these  change,  the 

i6s 


Matt  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

animal  finds  itself  in  time  ill-adapted  to  the 
changed  surroundings  and  disappears. 

Thus  even  conformity  to  environment  cannot 
guarantee  permanent  survival  of  a  form,  much 
less  can  it  guarantee  progress.  The  mollusk  and 
many  sadly  degenerate  parasitic  forms  are  ad- 
mirably conformed  to  their  environment.  Con- 
formity to  environment  is  one  condition  of  sur- 
vival and  hence  to  the  possibility  of  progress, 
but  it  can  guarantee  neither.  The  highest  and 
most  complex  forms  find  exact  and  complete 
conformity  far  more  difficult,  more  new  possi- 
bilities open  before  them;  hence  they  have  suf- 
fered even  wider  extermination  than  the  lower. 

Evidently  if  clam,  parasite,  and  man  have  all 
conformed  to  environment,  if  the  most  degen- 
erate and  the  most  progressive  forms  agree  in 
this  respect,  then  they  must  have  conformed  to 
very  different  environments  by  very  different 
habits  and  modes  of  life.  The  environment  to 
which  we  conform  is  just  as  important  as  our 
conformity  to  it. 

How  can  we  judge  of  anything  so  complex 
and  ill-defined  as  environment  except  by  noticing 
the  result  of  conformity  to  it?  Environment 
stands  to  the    animal  in   a  relation   somewhat 

i66 


Confoymity  to  Enviroujnctit 

similar  to  that  of  the  seal  to  the  wax.  The 
Impression  on  the  wax  Is  often  far  more  legible 
than  the  monogram  engraved  on  the  seal.  We 
may  put  this  fact  In  another  form.  Environ- 
ment Is  really  a  great  host  of  forces  and  tend- 
encies pressing  and  crowding,  luring  and  draw- 
ing, the  animal  from  all  sides.  But  the  animal 
cannot  at  any  one  time  yield  In  all  directions. 
All  these  forces  unite  In  one  grand  resultant, 
urging  the  animal  In  a  certain  direction.  Simi- 
larly gravitation,  wind,  tide,  eddy,  and  current, 
all  unite  to  drive  a  sailboat  along  a  steady  course. 
When  we  study  the  Impression  which  environ- 
ment has  made  upon  animals,  or  the  resultant 
of  Its  forces  as  shown  by  the  directions  In  which 
they  have  been  urged,  we  notice  that  the  Impres- 
sion and  resultant  have  continually  changed  as 
they  advanced  from  stage  to  stage  of  develop- 
ment. During  the  zoophytic  stage  the  chief 
business  of  our  ancestors  was  to  develop  good 
digestion,  worms  had  to  develop  muscles,  early 
vertebrates  a  backbone,  mammals  a  brain. 
Judged  by  Its  Impression  or  resultant,  environ- 
ment appears  successively  as  a  power  making  for 
good  digestion,  then  for  muscular  power  and 
quickness  of  movement,    then    for  shrewdness. 

167 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 

Finally,  as  we  have  seen,  in  human  history  it  un- 
masks itself  and  appears  as  a  power  making  for 
righteousness  and  unselfishness. 

All  animals  live  in  one  world.  But  in  a  very 
true  sense  fish,  barnacle,  and  protozoan,  all  liv- 
ing side  by  side  in  the  water,  still  live  in  different 
worlds.  Higher  forms  pry  deeper  and  lift  them- 
selves higher  and  thus  come  into  relation  with 
elements  which  pass  over  the  lower  form  with- 
out affecting  it.  The  development  of  the  visual 
eye,  the  passage  from  blindness  to  sight,  revo- 
lutionized the  animal  kingdom.  Directly  or  in- 
directly it  brought  the  animal  under  a  host  of 
new  conditions  and  emergencies.  It  changed 
the  environment  of  the  animal,  and  the  seeing 
animal  became  a  most  important  element  in  the 
environment  of  all  his  neighbors.  The  life  of 
the  animal  kingdom  is  a  series  of  experiments, 
and  every  experiment  results  in  the  discovery  of 
something  before  unknown  or  unrecognized 
which  now  becomes  a  part  of  environment.  Up 
to  this  time  the  unrecognized  element  may  or 
may  not  have  impressed  itself  upon  the  animal. 
The  animal  kingdom  seems  at  first  to  drift  like 
a  raft  on  the  current.  Later  it  raises  sail;  it 
has  given   to  an   old    force   a  new  hold  upon 

i68 


Con/onmfy  to  Environment 

itself.  It  adds  a  rudder  or  steering  oar,  and 
now  every  swing  of  the  rudder  changes  the  re- 
sultant of  the  forces  of  wind  and  tide. 

It  seems  evident  that  all  surviving  animals 
conform  to  environment,  and  that  those  which 
conform  to  the  highest  or  best  environment 
progress.  Conversely  environment  is  that  to 
which  all  living  beings  conform.  It  includes  all 
those  objects,  forces,  tendencies,  which  have  any 
effect  or  bearing  upon  life.  But  any  force  which 
could  not  touch  or  in  any  way  affect  the  life  of 
an  animal  would  form  no  part  of  its  environ- 
ment. Music  could  form  no  part  of  the  envi- 
ronment of  a  totally  deaf  world  of  animals. 
Only  in  so  far  as  an  object  directly  or  indirectly 
comes  into  the  range  of  our  experience  and  af- 
fects our  life  can  it  be  said  to  really  form  any 
part  of  our  environment. 

Our  surroundings  include  all  the  objects  and 
forces  of  the  universe;  our  environment,  how- 
ever broad,  is  limited.  We  cannot  come  into 
close  relations  with  all  objects  and  beings.  With 
some  our  relation  is  very  close,  with  others  it 
is  remote  and  slight.  Some  forces  and  objects 
move  us  powerfully,  others  very  feebly  or  not 
at  all.     The  former  play  an  important  part  in 

169 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


our  environment,  the  latter  a  very  subordinate 
one,  if  any.  Captain  KIdd's  treasures  He  burled 
beneath  my  doorstep.  As  long  as  I  have  no 
suspicion  of  their  existence,  they  form  a  part  of 
my  surroundings  only,  not  of  my  environment. 
I  suspect  their  nearness  and  begin  to  search  half- 
heartedly or  earnestly.  They  modify  my  habits 
of  life  somewhat  or  considerably.  They  are  a 
part  of  my  environment.  Some  day  I  discover 
them.  Overjoyed  at  my  suddenly  acquired  and 
unearned  wealth,  I  Indulge  In  every  form  of 
luxury  and  dissipation.  They  have  changed  my 
whole  life,  and  have  become  the  dominating  ele- 
ment In  my  environment.  The  same  object  at 
different  times  varies  greatly  In  Its  importance 
in  my  environment,  according  to  my  own  moods 
and  Its  nearness  or  remoteness.  We  might  per- 
haps say  that  its  effect  varies  Inversely  as  the 
square  or  some  higher  power  of  the  distance. 

Girl  and  boy  have  lived  in  the  same  town. 
They  become  acquainted,  interested,  attached, 
engaged.  What  new  thing  has  caused  a  new 
heaven  and  earth  to  spring  up  around  the  newly 
engaged  pair?  Only  a  new  relationship;  this 
alone  has  changed.  One  new  relation  has  trans- 
figured their  lives. 

170 


Conformity  to  Rnvlronmcnt 


The  content  of  the  books  may  form  an  in- 
significant part  of  the  environment  of  the  page 
or  other  attendant  in  the  library.  Another  man 
may  have  but  few  books  and  Httle  time  for 
these,  and  yet  he  may  hve  in  them.  One  man 
is  lifted,  thrilled,  and  strengthened  by  music, 
paintings,  the  beauty  of  smiling  valleys,  of 
cloud  and  sunsets,  or  the  grandeur  of  the  moun- 
tains; another  is  but  little  affected  by  any  or  all 
of  these.  They  may  form  the  surroundings  of 
both;  only  he  who  can  feel  their  beauty  makes 
them  a  part  of  his  environment. 

Two  men  read  a  page  of  poetry  or  of  science. 
One  is  inspired  by  that  "  splendor  of  truth '' 
which  was  Plato's  definition  of  beauty;  the  other 
is  scarcely  moved  at  all.  The  passage  is  really 
as  foreign  to  him  as  if  written  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  It  is  no  part  of  his  environment.  No 
man  can  be  a  hero  to  his  valet,  if  heroism  is 
foreign  to  the  valet's  environment. 

Hence  from  the  same  surroundings  men  may 
go  "  down  to  Gehenna  or  up  to  the  throne," 
each  going  from  his  own  environment  to  his  own 
place.  And  from  totally  different  surroundings 
similar  characters  may  dev^elop.  Environment 
is  evidently  that  part  of  our  surroundings  with 

171 


Malt  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

which  we  form  some  relationship,  and  the  close- 
ness of  the  relationship  determines  how  large 
a  part  each  object  shall  play  in  it.  Surroundings 
are  the  material  from  which  we  select  a  very 
small  part  out  of  which  to  frame  our  environ- 
ment. To  this  environment  once  chosen,  framed, 
and  accepted,  we  will  surely  conform.  Sur- 
roundings therefore,  as  has  been  said,  spell  op- 
portunity, but  environment  spells  doom. 

If  this  be  true,  it  follows  that  improvement 
of  surroundings  is  no  guarantee  of  improved 
environment.  Improved  surroundings  mean  re- 
moval of  obstacles  to  progress  and  greater  oppor- 
tunity. If  the  individual  is  already  intent  upon 
making  the  very  best  possible  use  of  his  sur- 
roundings, this  is  all  that  is  necessary.  If  he 
does  not  care  for  better  things  or  will  make  no 
resolute  effort  to  attain  them,  if  he  is  not  mak- 
ing at  least  fair  use  of  that  which  he  has,  farther 
opportunities  will  benefit  him  little. 

All  the  treasures  of  art,  science,  and  religion 
are  wasted  on  the  man  who  does  not  care  to 
think  about  them,  or  who  allows  his  mind  to 
become  so  occupied  with  other  things  that  he 
has  no  time  to  notice  them.  Wealth,  learning, 
and  mental  discipline  are  all  opportunities  which 

172 


Conformity  to  Enviromneut 


may  be  used  for  good  or  to  pander  to  evil. 
Even  the  grandest  moral  and  religious  truths, 
carefully  and  thoroughly  learned,  may  lie  in  the 
mind  neglected  and  unheeded.  They  form  no 
part  of  our  environment  until  embraced  and  as- 
similated, just  as  food  is  of  no  use  even  in  the 
stomach  until  it  has  been  digested  and  absorbed. 
Indeed,  too  much  of  It  may  give  rise  to  indi- 
gestion and  dyspepsia.  There  are  many  dys- 
peptic souls,  wealthy  men  who  are  not  generous, 
learned  men  who  are  not  wise,  and  moralists 
who  are  Immoral. 

Increased  or  better  opportunities  are  good  as 
far  as  they  go.  They  do  not  reach  the  real 
seat  of  the  difficulty.  This  lies  In  the  will  and 
purpose.  To  treat  the  intellect  for  weakness  of 
the  will  is  as  wise  as  to  prescribe  external  appli- 
cations for  a  disease  of  the  blood.  It  is  treating 
the  symptom  Instead  of  the  disease. 

This  fact  has  been  clearly  recognized  by  all 
great  thinkers.  Plato  said  that  many  men  must 
be  Improved  before  they  could  be  educated. 
Another  equally  great  thinker  has  said,  "  The 
law  Is  weak."  Even  knowledge  of  law  and  vi- 
sion of  truth  are  not  enough.  It  Is  not  enough 
to  see  and  be  persuaded  of  the  promise.    It  must 

173 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

be  embraced.  Hence  what  is  first  needed,  what 
is  fundamental  in  all  reform  or  education,  is 
usually  not  more  instruction  in  knowledge  but 
more  inspiration,  not  argument  but  uplift,  not 
more  information  but  a  higher  purpose  and  a 
stronger  will  set  on  right.  Evolution  leaves  us 
still  face  to  face  with  the  old  baffling  problem, 
how  to  change  and  improve  the  will. 

We  noticed  in  our  study  of  the  evolution  of 
the  animal  kingdom  that  at  every  stage  a  large 
part  of  the  group  refused  to  go  farther,  and 
either  strayed  from  the  upward  path  or  stag- 
nated and  degenerated.  This  is  what  we  might 
well  expect.  Nature  surrounded  the  progressive 
form  by  stronger  competitors  which  drove  it 
into  and  along  the  right  way.  The  primitive 
vertebrate  was  compelled  to  swim  by  mollusk 
and  crab ;  the  mammal  was  hunted  into  shrewd- 
ness and  agility;  the  arboreal  mammal  was  com- 
pelled to  climb.  The  fittest  arose  not  from 
choice  so  much  as  from  compulsion. 

Once  and  again  in  human  history  the  same 
compulsion  has  been  necessary  and  has  proved 
effective.  Our  ancestors  were  nomads,  perhaps, 
on  the  plains  of  Asia.  They  had  to  become 
agriculturahsts,   cultivators   of  the  soil,    if  any 

174 


Co7iformity  to  Environment 

higher  stage  of  civilization  was  to  be  attained. 
Wallace  has  well  said  that  nomads  become  agri- 
culturalists only  when  and  as  they  are  starved 
into  tilling  the  soil.  What  arguments  or  elo- 
quence will  you  use  with  the  nomad  to  persuade 
him  to  make  this  change  in  life?  He  knows 
by  long  experience  the  pleasures  of  ease  and 
freedom,  he  has  seen  the  long  hours  of  hard 
labor  of  the  husbandman.  The  advantages  and 
pleasures  of  a  higher  civilization  appeal  but 
feebly  to  him,  he  has  never  felt  or  experienced 
them.  He  feels  no  higher  needs.  His  present 
situation  is  good  enough. 

The  problem  seems  to  have  been  solved  in  a 
very  simple  manner.  Our  ancestors  migrated 
from  the  open  steppe  into  forest-clad  Europe. 
Pasturage  became  very  scarce.  Open  land  was 
limited.  They  must  cultivate  it  or  starve. 
Many  starved.  Some  learned  to  till  the  soil. 
The  spur  of  necessity  is  the  best  teacher. 

This  compulsory  process  is  wasteful  and  ex- 
pensive. It  requires  a  very  large  body  of  un- 
progressive  police  to  occupy  and  guard  every 
side  path,  and  thus  compel  a  "  remnant "  to  fol- 
low the  right  one.  But  in  the  case  of  man  it  is 
usually  impracticable.     For,  when  compelled  to 

175 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

live  under  the  very  best  surroundings,  and  com- 
pulsion can  go  no  farther,  the  man  frames  a 
good  or  bad  environment,  according  to  his  char- 
acter and  choice. 

To  a  certain  extent,  and  far  more  than  most 
of  us  suspect,  we  are  still  held  to  a  certain  stand- 
ard of  morality  or  decency  by  the  pressure  of  the 
opinion  of  our  friends  and  neighbors.  Remove 
any  man  or  body  of  men  to  a  distant  land;  let 
them  feel  sure  that  their  actions  and  modes  of 
life  will  remain  unknown  at  home;  many  will 
surely  sink  from  the  lack  of  the  sustaining  in- 
fluence of  home  and  friends.  But  this  process 
can  raise  men  only  to  its  average  standard;  it 
can  hardly  insure  progress.  Something  higher 
and  stronger  is  needed. 

The  problem  of  human  evolution  is  clear. 
We  must  persuade  and  inspire  men  and  women 
to  press  on  to  the  next  higher  plane  of  hfe;  to 
yield,  if  necessary,  a  certain  amount  of  present 
advantage  for  the  sake  of  greater  future  benefits 
for  themselves  and  far  more  for  their  children ; 
to  repay  to  future  generations  the  debt  of  honor 
imposed  upon  us  by  the  benefits  which  we  have 
reaped  from  the  labors  of  our  ancestors.  The 
ascent  must  be  made  by  the  steady  and  habitual 

176 


Conformity  to  Environment 

exercise  of  our  highest  powers.  The  moral  and 
reHgious  life  must  form  a  larger  part  of  our 
thought  and  interest  as  well  as  of  our  life.  They 
must  be  made  a  business.  For  as  a  man  think- 
eth  in  his  heart,  and  on  the  plane  of  what  most 
occupies  his  thought,  so  he  is. 

The  attainment  of  a  higher  plane  through  the 
exercise  of  higher  powers  demands  a  change  of 
habits  of  thought  as  well  as  action.  Such  changes 
of  habit  are  never  easy,  they  are  more  difficult 
every  year  of  life,  as  old  lines  of  thought  and 
action  become  more  fixed  and  easy;  in  time 
change  becomes  practically  impossible.  More- 
over, the  arguments  and  inducements  to  remain 
on  the  lower  plane  are  many  and  plausible.  In- 
ertia and  present  habit  are  sufficient  to  fetter 
many.  The  present  holds  them  by  custom  and 
by  hereditary  tenure.  Present  advantages  are 
numerous  and  clear.  They  are  close  to  us  in 
our  surroundings,  and  crowd  naturally  and  easily 
into  the  first  place  in  our  environment.  Pro- 
vision for  present  material  needs  and  against 
similar  future  dangers  and  emergencies  is  a 
daily  duty.  It  easily  becomes  the  chief  end  and 
effort  of  life,  and  absorbs  all  our  thought  and 
energy. 

177 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

The  present  and  tangible  are  very  real  to  us. 
The  enjoyments  which  they  offer  have  been  tested 
and  found  excellent  again  and  again  in  past  ex- 
perience. Imagination  continually  represents 
them  before  us.  Over  against  these  the  advan- 
tages of  future  attainments  of  untried  powers 
seem  dim  and  unreal.  They  cannot  be  appre- 
ciated until  the  experiment  of  exercising  them 
has  been  thoroughly  tried.  The  first  attempts 
made  in  the  face  of  old  habits  and  at  the  loss 
of  present  ease  and  comfort,  are  likely  to  pro- 
duce friction,  discomfort,  and  vexation.  Then 
life  is  an  experiment  and  the  future  is  always 
uncertain.  The  goal  is  far  off  and  unattainable. 
Our  highest  possibilities  can  be  realized  to  only 
a  small  extent.  May  we  not  hope  that,  after  all, 
evolution  will  bring  survival  and  progress  to  all 
alike,  fit  and  unfit,  without  our  effort?  Is  it 
worth  while  to  struggle?  Many  very  "prac- 
tical "  people  say,  "  Decidedly  it  is  not  worth 
while." 

"  We  have  had  enough  of  action  and  of  motion  we. 


« 


Let  us  swear  an  oath,  and  keep  it  with  an  equal  mind 
In  the  hollow  Lotos-land  to  live  and  lie  reclined 
On  the  hills  like  Gods  together,  careless  of  mankind. 

178 


Con/onnify  to  Environment 

Surely,  surely,  slumber  is  more  sweet  than  toil,  the  shore 
Than  labor  in  the  deep  mid-ocean,  wind  and  wave,  and  oar, 
Oh,  rest  ye,  brother  mariners,  we  will  not  wander  more." 

Moreover,  the  mere  wish  to  attain,  the  dream 
of  it,  the  thought  that  wc  will  some  day  arouse 
ourselves,  are  all  alike  useless  and  dangerous. 
Even  half-hearted  efforts  are  not  enough.  Says 
Carlyle  of  Burns: 

*'  It  was  clear  to  Burns  that  he  had  talent 
enough  to  make  a  fortune,  could  he  but  rightly 
have  willed  this;  It  was  clear  also  that  he  willed 
something  far  different,  and  therefore  could  not 
make  one.  Unhappy  It  was  that  he  had  not  the 
power  to  choose  the  one  and  reject  the  other, 
but  must  halt  forever  between  two  opinions,  two 
objects;  making  hampered  advancement  toward 
either.  But  it  is  so  with  many  men;  we  '  long 
for  the  merchandise,  yet  would  fain  keep  the 
price  ' — and  so  stand  chaffering  with  fate.  In 
vexatious  altercation,  till  the  night  come  and 
our  fair  Is  over!  " 

But  Locke,  Milton,  and  others  had  "  two 
things  which  Burns  wanted,  both  which,  It  seems 
to  us,  are  Indispensable  for  such  men.  They 
had  a  true  religious  principle  of  morals,  and  a 
single,  not  a  double,  aim  in  their  activity.  .  .  . 

13  179 


Man  m  the  Light  of  Evolution 

They  willed  one  thing  to  which  all  other  things 
were  subordinated  and  made  subservient,  and 
therefore  they  accomplished  It.  The  wedge 
will  rend  rocks,  but  its  edge  must  be  sharp  and 
single;  If  It  be  double,  the  wedge  Is  bruised  In 
pieces,  and  will  rend  nothing." 

This  is  so  clearly  a  truism  of  success  every- 
where In  life  that  It  needs  no  further  proof  or 
Illustration.  Yet  It  should  be  emphasized  espe- 
cially of  the  rule  of  right  and  duty  In  the  heart. 
For  these  will  accept  no  divided  allegiance.  If 
they  cannot  rule  supreme  they  abdicate  and  for- 
sake their  former  kingdom  and  home. 

To  persuade  men  to  such  loyalty,  and  thus  to 
hold  them  to  the  only  path  of  permanent  prog- 
ress, is  no  easy  matter.  The  Individual  must 
establish  the  closest  relation,  and  conform  to 
and  live  amid,  these  Invisible  and  intangible 
realities.  Motives  must  be  presented  which  will 
appeal  to  the  cool  judgment  of  the  intellect,  but 
which  will  go  far  deeper.  Through  the  intel- 
lectual Interest  they  must  reach  the  heart  and 
arouse  the  glow  of  feeling,  which  alone  can 
stimulate  the  will,  and  thus  permeate  and  mold 
the  whole  being  and  life.  Only  thus  can  con- 
formity be  assured. 

i8o 


Conformity  to  Ejivironinent 

We  are  too  much  afraid  of  the  feelings  and 
of  any  appeal  to  them.  Yet  our  feelings  are  in 
general  as  correct  as  our  opinions.  President 
Hall  has  well  said  that  opinion  is  individual  but 
feeling  is  racial,  something  larger  and  deeper 
than  opinion.  "  Out  of  the  heart  are  the  issues 
of  life."  When  Bunyan  will  find  a  hero  strong 
and  brave  enough  to  kill  Giant  Despair,  he  sends 
out  Greatheart.  Swelled  head  would  make  but 
a  poor  showing  in  that  battle. 

A  deep  thinker  has  well  said:  "  If  we  are 
wise  we  shall  never  Ignore  the  great  fact  that 
men  are  not  lifted  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
plane  of  life  through  processes  of  the  under- 
standing, or  through  any  enlightenment  or  en- 
largement of  the  intellectual  powers.  Men  are 
not  perhaps  In  anything,  certainly  In  the  com- 
prehensive conduct  of  their  life,  governed  by 
their  understandings.  I  do  not  now  try  to  ex- 
plain the  fact;  I  only  state  it  as  within  the  sight 
of  all.  The  controlling  motives  in  human  con- 
duct do  not  spring  from  the  Intellectual  side  of 
human  nature.  We  do  not  love  as  a  process  of 
Inference,  nor  hate  as  a  logical  deduction.  That 
which  Is  all  clear  to  the  Intellect  may  be  any- 
thing but  cogent  to  the  heart  and  to  the  will. 

i8i 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


"  The  only  motive  which  can  move  a  will  is 
either  a  will  itself  or  something  into  which  a  will 
enters.  It  is  not  a  thought  but  only  a  sentiment, 
a  deed,  or  a  person  by  which  we  become  truly 
inspired.  It  is  not  the  intellect,  but  the  heart 
and  the  will,  through  which  and  by  which  we 
are  controlled.  It  is  not  the  precepts  of  life, 
but  life  itself,  by  which  alone  we  are  begotten 
and  born  unto  life."  ^ 

Wisdom  comes  from  the  vision  and  study  of 
great  thoughts;  life  is  kindled  by  the  vision  and 
thought  of  great  lives  and  great  deeds.  *'  Where 
there  is  no  vision  the  people  perish." 

Our  study  of  environment  has  led  us  to  the 
same  conclusion  as  our  study  of  racial  experi- 
ence. The  leavening  power  in  the  world,  that 
which  draws  to  the  selection  and  framing  of 
the  best  environment,  out  of  whatsoever  sur- 
roundings, is  the  dynamic  compelling  power  of 
a  great  life  based  on  moral  and  religious  con- 
victions. 

We  have  found  this  to  be  the  central  thought 
of  history,  a  heroic  soul  infecting  a  community, 
race,  or  nation.     It  is  the  central  thought  of  all 

^  Seelye,  J.  H.,  "Christian  Missions,"  p.  144. 

182 


Coftfonnity  to  Environment 

effectual  education,  the  young  and  Impressible 
exposed  and  brought  close  to  the  contaglum  of 
a  powerful  life,  not  to  a  mere  walking  encyclo- 
pedia of  learning.  It  Is  the  central  thought  of 
Christianity,  no  mere  doctrine,  creed,  or  law,  but 
a  grand  life  so  perfectly  conformed  to  the  un- 
changeable and  eternal  that  all  the  power  of 
the  universe  Is  on  Its  side. 

Is  It  the  central  thought  of  evolution  In  a 
grander  and  deeper  sense  than  we  have  ventured 
to  suggest  ?  On  the  vaulted  celling  of  the  SIstlne 
Chapel  In  Rome,  Michael  Angelo  painted  his 
vision  of  the  creation  of  man.  A  magnificent 
half-recumbent  human  figure  is  rising  as  If  just 
awakened  from  sleep  or  unconsciousness,  and  Is 
stretching  out  Its  hand  to  reach  the  hand  of 
God  held  out  to  meet  It.  It  Is  a  strange  con- 
ception of  creation,  but.  If  you  wish  to  call  It  a 
picture  of  human  evolution — God  reaching 
down  and  life  struggling  up  until  the  two  can 
clasp  hands — many  facts  of  science  would  find 
their  most  adequate  ultimate  explanation  In  such 
a  view. 


CHAPTER    IX 

SOCIAL    ENVIRONMENT 

WE  have  completed  our  hasty  sketch  of 
human  evolution.  We  have  traced 
its  course  and  briefly  analyzed  the 
chief  factors  and  processes  involved  in  the  long 
and  slow  upward  progress.  But  our  aim  has 
been  practical  rather  than  academic.  We  have 
studied  evolution  mainly  in  order  to  discover 
what  light  it  can  throw  on  present  problems.  It 
seems  necessary,  therefore,  before  we  close,  to 
attempt  to  apply  the  results  of  our  theory  to 
present  conditions  and  needs. 

This  venture  involves  much  repetition  as  well 
as  risk.  Every  upward  step  has  been  of  the 
nature  of  an  experiment,  whose  results  could  not 
be  foretold.  Every  modification  of  habit,  struc- 
ture, or  institution  demands  that  we  retain  all 
that  we  can  of  the  good  in  the  old  with  as  much 
added  progress  as  is  possible  or  safe.  Progress 
has  been  by  steps,  not  by  leaps  or  bounds. 

184 


Social  Environment 


All  our  present  Institutions  are  a  mixture  of 
old  and  new.  We  must  not  sacrifice  the  good 
that  was  In  the  old,  neither  must  we  allow  it  to 
hamper  the  development  of  the  germ  of  some- 
thing better  Involved  In  It.  Racial  and  social 
experiments  are  necessarily  compromises;  time 
must  test  their  wisdom  and  value. 

Conservative  and  radical  students  of  present 
conditions  arrive  at  very  different  conclusions. 
The  laws  of  biological  history  may  be  clear,  but 
their  application  to  Individual  cases  is  very  dif- 
ficult. Even  the  charge  to  the  jury  Is  tinged  by 
the  constitution  of  the  judge.  Our  practical 
application  must  be  a  mixture  of  more  or  less 
safe  scientific  Inferences  with  personal  opinion 
or  prejudice. 

Stick  as  close  to  fact  and  truth  as  we  can, 
error  will  slip  In.  There  will  be  much  room  for 
difference  of  opinion.  The  reader  must  use 
freely  his  own  critical  judgment.  The  value  of 
our  conclusions  must  be  largely  in  their  sug- 
gestlveness.  If  they  can  lead  the  reader  to  adopt 
the  standpoint  of  the  evolutionist  as  the  best 
from  which  to  judge  and  estimate  present  social 
experiments,  they  will  have  served  a  useful  pur- 
pose.    If  we  can  gain  a  surer  confidence  in  some 

185 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


ancient,  and  now  somewhat  unfashionable, 
means  and  institutions,  it  may  do  no  harm.  If 
at  the  end  we  have  discovered  nothing  startling 
or  new,  our  search  may  not  have  been  fruitless. 
For  truism  is  often  only  another  name  for  im- 
portant truth  which  we  may  have  always  known, 
but  which  we  have  neglected  or  forgotten,  and 
of  which  we  need  to  be  reminded. 

The  goal  of  human  evolution  seems  to  be  a 
race  of  vigorous,  healthy,  whole,  well-balanced 
men  and  women.  Such  men  and  women  will 
be  healthy  physically  with  well-grown  and  fully 
developed  strong  and  tough  bodies.  Good 
digestion  will  furnish  abundant  material  for 
growth  and  repair  and  fuel  for  the  use  of  our 
muscular  and  nervous  systems.  Clean  and  pure, 
well-oxygenated  blood  driven  by  a  stout  heart 
will  stimulate  instead  of  clogging  the  action  of 
every  organ.  Tough  muscles,  adequately  exer- 
cised, will  insure  health,  power,  and  efficiency. 
A  calm,  steady,  nervous  system  will  give  econ- 
omy of  effort,  grace  and  efficiency,  and  strength 
of  action.  Physical  vigor  will  be  accompanied 
by  many  most  important  virtues — hopefulness, 
cheerfulness,  courage,  confidence,  endurance, 
steadfastness,  and  many  others. 

i86 


Social  Eiivironuicjit 


The  Intellect  will  perceive  clearly  the  real 
ends  of  life,  will  furnish  the  vision  of  ideals 
worthy  of  complete  devotion,  and  will  discern 
means  adequate  to  the  attainment  of  high  ends. 
This  clearer  vision  will  stir  deep  feeling  and 
emotion.  Feeling  and  devotion  will  stimulate 
an  iron  will  set  on  the  reign  of  truth  and 
right. 

The  lives  of  these  people  will  be  completely 
dominated  by  convictions  of  right  and  duty  born 
of  ages  of  racial  experience.  They  will  be  large, 
deep,  beneficent,  like  *'  rivers  of  water  "  or  the 
"  shadow  of  a  great  rock,"  as  we  have  already 
seen. 

Such  men  and  women,  and  only  such,  will  be 
conformed  to  all  that  is  great  and  worthy  in 
their  surroundings,  to  the  unseen  and  eternal, 
to  all  that  Is  divine  In  this  grand  world,  and  will 
thus  have  been  "  transformed  by  the  renewing 
of  their  minds."  They  will  have  clasped  hands 
and  joined  purpose  and  will  with  the  God  in 
whom  the  religious  experiments  and  experiences 
of  ages  have  compelled  or  drawn  them  to  be- 
lieve. They  will  cast  in  their  efforts  with  the 
tide  of  events  sweeping  on  to  something  still 
higher  and  better.     They  will  progress  faster 

187 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

than  we,  their  success  will  be  sure.     Evolution 
gathers  momentum  in  its  course. 

We  have  found  that  man's  share  and  work 
in  the  process  of  evolution  is  the  higher  develop- 
ment and  complete  supremacy  of  the  moral  and 
religious  powers,  just  as  it  was  the  business  of 
the  worm  to  develop  viscera,  and  of  the  lower 
vertebrates  to  add  new  muscles  and  motor  nerve 
centers.  Wealth,  learning,  and  civilization  are 
Important  chiefly  as  they  contribute  to  this  end. 
Failure  to  make  the  highest  supreme  is  degen- 
eration and  means  extinction. 

But  as  we  look  out  on  this  whirl  of  social  life 
we  are  puzzled  and  become  confused.  It  Is  too 
near  us  to  allow  of  any  perspective  in  our  view 
or  picture.  We  wonder  whither  it  is  moving, 
or  whether  it  has  any  meaning  or  goal.  We  are 
confident  that  there  is  progress  as  well  as  degen- 
eration. But  whether  the  progress  Is  In  America 
or  China  we  are  not  quite  sure.  Society  Is  not 
the  same  In  any  two  states,  cities,  or  towns.  In- 
deed, every  Individual  may  be  said  to  have  his 
own  society  or  social  circle,  apparently  inde- 
pendent of  his  state  or  clime  and  of  the  govern- 
ment or  social  usages  under  which  he  lives. 

Society  tends  to  become  more  complex  and 

i88 


Social  Environniciit 


varied,  and  hence  more  difficult  to  analyze  or 
understand.  The  "  primitive  simplicity "  Is 
gone.  In  races  living  In  savagery  or  barbarism 
all  the  members  seem  to  be  much  alike  In  work 
and  pursuit,  In  aim  and  purpose,  In  material  and 
mental  possessions.  All  Is  monotonous.  This 
may  or  may  not  be  quite  true.  But  In  our  social 
life  to-day  there  are  vast  differences  In  material, 
physical,  moral,  and  religious  endowments;  In 
handicraft,  trade,  profession;  in  station  and 
rank;  in  wealth,  learning,  and  power. 

These  great  Inequalities  seize  our  attention 
and  occupy  our  minds.  Thoughtful  writers  em- 
phasize their  unfairness  or  Injustice,  and  plead 
eloquently  for  equality  of  opportunity  at  least. 
They  compare  the  poverty  and  straitened  life 
of  great  masses  with  the  wealth  and  luxury  of 
the  few.  But  doctors  of  sociology  still  disagree 
as  to  whether  accumulation  of  great  wealth  by 
a  few  Individuals  Is  harmful  or  beneficent  to  so- 
ciety. We  all  recognize  that  anything  like  equal- 
ity of  wealth  must  be  the  attainment  of  a  far 
distant  future.  Most  of  us  readily  recognize 
that  society  wnll  not  be  greatly  improved  by 
those  who  wait  for  perfect  conditions  to  aid 
them  to  make  perfect  men.     Some  have  already 

189 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


discovered  that  "  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in 
the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  pos- 
sesseth."  Perhaps,  if  every  one  of  us  would 
recognize  his  responsibility  for  other  posses- 
sions beside  wealth,  and  his  duty  to  give  freely 
of  the  best  which  he  has  abundantly  of  any 
kind — whether  money,  learning,  wisdom,  cour- 
age, hope,  health,  cheer,  and  comfort  of  any 
sort  —  the  inequality  might  be  made  a  very 
real  and  positive  rather  than  a  very  doubtful 
blessing. 

Here,  as  in  the  last  chapter,  we  have  to  draw 
a  very  sharp  distinction  between  social  surround- 
ings and  social  environment.  If  we  can  discover 
the  nature  and  elements  of  a  man's  social  envi- 
ronment, we  know  whither  he  is  tending  and 
what  he  will  become,  for  it  determines  his  char- 
acter and  doom.  It  is  of  far  greater  immediate 
importance  than  physical  environment,  for  It 
molds  directly  his  moral  and  religious  develop- 
ment. But  some  or  many  institutions  and  tend- 
encies affect  us  indirectly  and  slightly;  they  are 
hardly  more  than  surroundings  which  spell  op- 
portunity to  be  used  or  neglected  as  we  will. 
A  man  maybe  the  slave  of  democracy,  free  under 
tyranny,  poor  but  making  many  rich,  a  boor  in 

190 


Social  Environment 


broadcloth,  or  a  nobleman  in  homespun.  Here 
especially  environment  Is  almost  altogether  a 
matter  of  relations,  the  product  of  choice  and 
selection.  When  a  man  chooses  or  accepts  his 
friends  or  heroes,  he  Is  framing  the  largest 
part  of  his  social  environment,  whatever  be  his 
state  or  city,  the  form  of  government  under 
which  he  lives,  or  the  rank  or  station  which  he 
adorns  or  disgraces.  Improvement  in  these 
latter  respects  may  Increase  opportunity  or  re- 
move hindrances  or  obstacles.  But  the  char- 
acter of  his  environment,  wx  repeat,  depends 
ultimately  on  the  choice  or  selection  of  the 
Individual. 

We  are  led  to  consider  society  as  a  bundle  of 
possibilities  of  good  and  evil,  of  which  one  will 
realize  the  best,  another  the  worst.  It  Is  like 
a  mass  of  the  most  varied  building  materials — 
one  builds  a  royal  palace,  another  a  hovel  and 
lives  squalid  and  vulgar  all  his  days. 

Yet  here  again  as  elsewhere  some  of  our 
surroundings  press  closely  upon  us.  It  is  almost 
Impossible  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  a 
large  part  of  our  environment,  especially  during 
our  earlier  years  when  we  are  most  easily  im- 
pressed.    Others  invite  and  allure  us  repeatedly 

191 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

and  Importunately.  We  need  only  accept  them 
and  allow  them  to  make  or  mar  us.  Other  ele- 
ments remain  always  remote. 

It  seems,  therefore,  the  wisest  course  to  seek 
in  man's  constitution  and  surroundings  those  ele- 
ments, objects,  tendencies,  or  institutions  which 
lie  very  close  to  him,  and  which,  wisely  and  ade- 
quately used,  will  most  surely  urge  or  allure 
him  to  frame  the  best  social  environment  from 
material  which  Is  everywhere  freely  at  his  dis- 
posal. But  If  we  are  to  rely  on  these  for  the 
improvement  or  regeneration  of  a  race  or  com- 
munity, they  must  be  already  to  some  extent 
In  our  possession;  we  cannot  wait  for  Ideal 
means  or  for  the  conditions  of  a  remote  future. 
They  must  have  been  tried  and  found  useful 
through  centuries  or  millennia  of  racial  experi- 
ence, and  thus  guarantee  a  fair  prospect  of  suc- 
cess. They  must  be  adequate  to  man's  highest 
needs  and  work,  to  the  furtherance  of  his  moral 
and  religious  development,  his  chief  duty  and 
glory. 

First  among  the  means  or  Incentives  of  prog- 
ress are  man's  inheritances  from  a  long  series 
of  progressive,  aspiring  ancestors.  Our  young 
men  and  maidens  see  visions,  perhaps  dim  and 

192 


Social  Environment 


indistinct,  strange  mixtures  of  the  real  and  pos- 
sible and  the  impossible,  of  the  priceless  and  the 
worthless,  but  of  marvelous  power  and  efficiency. 
Says  Stevenson  of  man :  "  Poor  soul,  here  for  so 
little,  cast  among  so  many  hardships,  filled  with 
desires  so  incommensurate  and  so  inconsistent, 
savagely  surrounded,  savagely  descended,  irreme- 
diably condemned  to  prey  upon  his  fellow  lives ; 
who  should  have  blamed  him  had  he  been  of  a 
piece  with  his  destiny?  To  touch  the  heart  of 
his  mystery,  we  find  in  him  one  thought  strange 
to  the  point  of  lunacy;  the  thought  of  duty;  the 
thought  of  something  owing  to  himself,  to  his 
neighbor,  to  his  God;  an  ideal  of  decency  to 
which  he  would  rise,  if  it  were  possible;  a  limit 
of  shame,  below  which  if  it  be  possible,  he  will 
not  stoop. ^ 

We  may  clarify  the  vision,  oftentimes  we  can 
raise  the  ideal.  But  some  ideal,  and  the  highest 
possible,  must  remain  implanted  in  the  mind. 
"  Where  there  Is  no  vision  the  people  perish." 
This  vision  and  Ideal  seems  hardly  other  than 
a  composite  of  the  inherited  racial  convictions 
so  omnipresent,  so  Imperious,  which  strengthen 


1  Cf.  Stevenson,  R.  L.,  "Pulvis  et  umbra. 


Man  in  the  -Light  of  Evolution 

as  life  goes  on,  unless  smothered  and  forgotten 
through  our  neglect. 

Over  against  this  priceless  inheritance,  for 
every  one  of  us  is  born  to  a  kingdom,  stands 
education  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  word, 
including  all  means  of  stimulating  growth  and 
development.  Nature  is  the  great  educator,  and 
framed  her  bill  of  compulsory  education  long 
before  man  arrived  on  the  globe.  Life  and  ex- 
perience are  the  great  teachers,  and  the  world 
is  the  school  of  this  grand  system  from  which 
we  are  never  graduated.  School  and  college  are 
only  human  devices,  artificial  institutions,  to 
make  good  the  deficiencies  of,  and  to  prepare 
the  child  and  youth  for,  this  grander  training. 
Says  Professor  Huxley:  "That  man,  I  think,  has 
had  a  liberal  education  who  has  been  so  trained 
in  youth  that  his  body  is  the  willing  servant  of 
his  will,  and  does  with  ease  and  pleasure  all  the 
work  that,  as  a  mechanism,  it  is  capable  of; 
whose  intellect  is  a  clear,  cold,  logic  engine,  with 
all  its  parts  of  equal  strength  and  in  smooth 
working  order,  ready,  like  a  steam  engine,  to 
be  turned  to  any  kind  of  work,  and  spin  the 
gossamers  as  well  as  forge  the  anchors  of  the 
mind;  whose  mind  is  stored  with  a  knowledge 

194 


Social  Environment 


of  the  great  and  fundamental  truths  of  Nature 
and  of  the  laws  of  her  operations;  one  who,  no 
stunted  ascetic,  Is  full  of  life  and  fire,  but  whose 
passions  are  trained  to  come  to  heel  by  a  vigor- 
ous will,  the  servant  of  a  tender  conscience;  who 
has  learned  to  love  all  beauty,  whether  of  Na- 
ture or  of  art,  to  hate  all  vlleness,  and  to  re- 
spect others  as  himself.  Such  a  man,  and  no 
other,  I  conceive,  has  had  a  liberal  education, 
for  he  Is  as  completely  as  a  man  can  be  In  har- 
mony with  Nature."  Every  reader  will  remem- 
ber this  "  Address  on  Education  "  In  which  Pro- 
fessor Huxley  compares  life  to  a  game  of  chess, 
and  defines  education  as  learning  the  laws  and 
moves  of  the  game.^ 

In  this  grand  system  of  education  the  home 
plays  a  leading  part.  We  hear  that  the  family 
Is  disintegrating  through  frequent  div^orces,  and 
that  home  training  Is  poor  and  Inadequate  com- 
pared with  that  of  a  century  ago.  We  freely 
admit  that  divorce  Is  far  too  common,  and  that 
most  fathers  and  some  mothers  are  too  much 
occupied  with  the  business  of  winning  wealth 


1  See    Huxley,   T.    H.,  "  Lay    Sermons,    Addresses,  and 
Reviews,"  New  York,  187 1. 

14  195 


Man  m  tJie  Light  of  Evolution 

and  fame  or  social  distinction  to  pay  much  at- 
tention to  anything  so  unimportant  as  the  needs 
and  possibilities  of  their  children.  The  children 
in  the  large  families  of  our  ancestors  educated 
one  another  to  an  extent  which  we  can  hardly 
appreciate.  The  only  child  Is  a  "  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit."  But  the  evolutionist  can 
comfort  himself  with  the  thought  that  the  di- 
vorced pair  and  the  only  child  are  necessary 
Incidents  in  the  beneficent  process  of  natural 
selection.  Such  abortive  families  leave  few  de- 
scendants to  cumber  the  ground.  These  excep- 
tions only  prove  the  rule  that  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  live  healthily  In  happy  homes,  where 
sturdy  morality  and  mutual  helpfulness  prevail, 
and  where  children  grow  up  in  an  atmosphere 
of  love,  kindliness,  and  mutual  forbearance,  if 
not  of  courtesy.  The  power  of  early  environ- 
ment, of  a  mother's  love,  cheerfulness,  courtesy, 
calmness,  courage,  hopefulness,  and  other  vir- 
tues, cannot  be  overestimated.  It  Is  second  only 
to  heredity,  with  which  we  sometimes  confuse  it. 
The  third  great  power  for  progress  is  the 
school.  This  Is  a  comparatively  new  institution. 
It  always  faces  shifting  conditions  and  new  prob- 
lems as  new  needs  arise  and  as  family  training 

196 


Social  Environment 


proves  more  or  less  adequate.  Here  we  have 
still  much  to  learn.  We  seem  sometimes  to  have 
forgotten  that  the  aim  of  school  and  college  is 
not  primarily  learning,  but  the  development  of 
strong,  efficient,  well-balanced  men  and  women, 
who  can  bear  the  burdens  and  do  the  work  of 
their  own  place  in  life,  and  meet  the  emergencies 
of  a  complex  civilization. 

The  chief  business  of  the  lower  grades  is,  or 
should  be,  to  promote  healthy  physical  growth. 
The  body  of  the  young  boy  and  girl  demands 
more  care  and  attention  than  the  mind.  Pul- 
monary, rather  than  cerebral,  capacity  is  the 
best  promise  of  future  usefulness.  Playground, 
garden,  and  gymnasium  can  help  more  than  desk 
and  recitation.  Both  are  needed,  but  the  physi- 
cal is  first,  afterwards  that  which  is  mental  and 
spiritual. 

Our  high  schools  are  fast  becoming  people's 
colleges  where  all  are  introduced  to  the  best  and 
most  inspiring  in  art,  literature,  science,  in  mor- 
als and  religion.  Skill  in  handicraft  is  receiving 
some  of  the  honor  and  attention  due  to  it. 
Schools  and  colleges  are  fast  escaping  from  the 
thralldom  of  a  mere  academic  learning,  whose 
value  was  usually  proportional  to  its  remoteness 

197 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

from  human  interests,  occupations,  and  life. 
We  are  learning  that  courses  of  study  and  text- 
books are  of  less  importance  than  the  standpoint 
and  personality  of  the  teacher.  Mathematics 
can  be  made  to  teem  with  vitality;  biology  is  the 
science  of  life  or  of  death;  the  "  winged  words  " 
of  Plato  and  ^schylus  may  be  used  as  sources 
of  inspiration  or  as  subjects  for  textual  criticism 
or  archaeological  exhumations.  In  my  child- 
hood Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost "  seemed  to  be 
valued  chiefly  as  a  text-book  for  parsing  and 
analysis. 

In  the  end,  that  school  or  college  is  best  ful- 
filling its  purpose  which  best  maintains  and  de- 
velops the  physical,  mental,  moral,  and  religious 
health  and  vigor  of  its  members,  which  culti- 
vates the  highest  ideal,  deepens  feeling,  strength- 
ens will  and  purpose,  and  inspires  to  the  fullest 
and  highest  life.  The  use  of  education  as  a 
means  of  racial  progress  is  better  understood 
to-day  than  ever  before. 

The  press  is  far  younger  than  even  the  school. 
Our  taste  for  literature  Is  still  unformed  and  un- 
developed, often  decidedly  perverted.  The  best 
and  most  life-giving  books  often  form  no  real 
part  of  our  environment.     They  do  not  furnish 

198 


Social  Envirotunenf 


sufficient  relaxation  and  amusement.  Plato  and 
Shakespeare  demand  that  we  take  them  seri- 
ously. They  refuse  to  play  the  part  of  the  clown 
in  the  circus.  We  do  not  quite  understand 
Shakespeare's  fools,  but  have  a  dim  suspicion 
that  they  are  laughing  at  us.  The  best  books 
from  the  evolutionist's  standpoint  are  not  neces- 
sarily those  of  most  elegant  diction  or  startling 
phrases.  They  are  not  necessarily  the  most  ex- 
hausting or  complete  catalogue  of  scientific  facts 
or  the  finest  dissections  of  normal  or  diseased 
personality.  They  are  true  to  life,  as  we  say. 
They  teem  with  the  highest  vitality.  Their 
characters  remain  with  us  as  friends  and  close 
companions  and  infect  us  with  strength  and 
courage.  They  not  merely  amuse  or  instruct, 
they  build  up  and  vivify. 

Judged  from  this  standpoint,  no  volume  or 
library  has  such  value  as  the  Bible.  Only  a 
book  of  extraordinary  vitality  could  have  occa- 
sioned or  survived  the  misunderstandings,  mis- 
use, and  abuse  of  friends  and  foes  which  this 
book  has  suffered.  It  is  a  record  or  picture  of 
the  experience,  feelings,  and  life  of  strong  men 
and  women  facing  and  overcoming  doubt  and 
fear,  hardship  and  pain,   temptation   and  trial, 

199 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evoltttion 

as  we  must  do  to-day.  It  teems  with  life  and 
vigor,  courage,  hope  and  faith,  from  cover  to 
cover.  It  is  written,  sometimes  in  tears  and 
blood,  by  an  "  apostolic  succession  of  great 
souls,"  who  saw  things  as  they  were  and  are  and 
must  be.  It  is  militant  and  triumphant,  yet  with 
the  peace  and  calm  of  an  incoming  tide.  No 
wonder  that  that  stout  agnostic.  Professor  Hux- 
ley, pleaded  for  its  use  as  an  instrument  of 
popular  education,  and  believed  that  "  the  hu- 
man race  is  not  yet,  possibly  may  never  be,  in 
a  position  to  dispense  with  it."  ^ 

Just  at  present  we  are  so  busy  discussing  ques- 
tions of  text  and  authorship,  dates  and  historical 
setting,  inerrancy  and  fallibility,  and  I  know  not 
what  other  important  questions — and  they  are 
of  vast  importance — that  we  can  give  little  heed 
or  thought  to  the  vital  content.  But  this  stage, 
I  believe,  will  prove  to  be  a  "  temporarily  useful 
eccentricity  rather  than  a  definitively  triumphant 
position,"  to  borrow  a  phrase  from  Professor 
James.  Sensible  common  people  and  minds  not 
debauched  by  learning,    ignorance,   or  conceit. 


1  See  Huxley,  T.  H.,  "Some  Controverted  Questions,' 
New  York,  1873,  pp.  38,  40,  72. 

200 


Social  Euviyojnncnf 


will  not  long  be  content  to  neglect  this  master- 
piece of  literature. 

The  unique  value  of  the  Bible  is  that,  while 
its  scope  is  exceedingly  broad  and  covers  all  de- 
partments of  life,  its  chief  subject  Is  moral  and 
religious  evolution,  the  pivotal  or  strategic  cen- 
ter of  human  progress.  It  is  a  text-book  of  the 
highest  biology,  a  record  of  actual  experiments 
and  experiences  of  men  who  were  by  nature  and 
training  experts  and  geniuses  In  this  line.  Hence 
Ignorance  of  this  classic  Is  even  more  culpable 
than  would  be  the  confession  of  an  evolutionist 
that  he  never  found  time  or  bothered  himself  to 
read  Darwin's  "  Origin  of  Species." 

But  If  man's  role  and  business  In  the  drama 
of  evolution  is  and  must  be  moral  and  religious 
development  and  progress,  it  Is  evident  that 
there  must  be  some  institution  which  shall  make 
this  progress  its  chief  aim  and  purpose.  This 
Is  evidently  the  place  of  the  Church  viewed  from 
the  evolutionist's  standpoint.  Such  an  institu- 
tion Is  all  the  more  necessary  in  human  education 
because  men  and  women  leave  school  and  col- 
lege just  as  they  are  entering  the  most  trying 
and  critical  years  of  life.  These  Institutions, 
as  we  have  seen,  accompany  us  as  far  as  the 

20I 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

Interpreter's  House.  The  Church  should  be  the 
Greatheart  to  guide  us  on  our  lonely  journey 
through  the  Valley  of  Humiliation  and  up  to  the 
clear  vision  of  the  Delectable  Mountains,  that 
heart  and  faith  fail  not  along  the  weary  road. 

This  is  the  chief  end  and  purpose  which  must 
always  dominate  and  permeate  the  Church's 
thought,  work,  and  life.  This  does  not  mean 
that  the  institutional  Church  is  necessarily  an 
eccentricity.  The  Church  may  and  must  take  up 
any  line  of  work  needed  for  human  progress  and 
welfare  until  some  special  institution  can  make 
a  study  of  the  need  and  satisfy  it  in  the  best  and 
most  adequate  way.  In  many  of  our  villages 
and  smaller  towns  the  Church  is  and  should  be 
the  center  of  civic  and  social  as  well  as  of  re- 
ligious life.  But  when  apostles  leave  the  word 
and  message  of  God  to  serve  tables,  there  seems 
to  be  a  misdirection  of  energy. 

The  Church  is  the  army  of  Jehovah,  Lord  of 
Hosts,  a  disciplined  army  of  hardy,  heroic  souls, 
each  soldier  aiding  his  fellow.  Its  orders  are 
always  '^  Forwards !  "  A  purely  defensive  cam- 
paign is  a  lost  campaign.  It  joins  battle  fiercely 
and  fearlessly  with  every  form  of  sin  and  mis- 
ery,  without  counting  odds  or  cost.      Respon- 

202 


Social  Enviyonuiciit 


siblllty,  duty,  not  privilege,  is  the  foundation 
stone  of  its  character.  It  appeals  not  to  the 
sluggard  or  weakling,  but  to  the  heroic  and 
stout-hearted.  Its  motto  is :  "  Be  strong  and  of 
a  very  good  courage."  Its  members  touch 
shoulders  and  keep  step  with  the  great  and  good, 
the  true  and  faithful,  of  all  ages. 

"Part  of  the  host  has  crossed  the  flood 
And  part  is  crossing  now." 

But  it  is  all  one  army  inspired  by  grand  tradi- 
tions and  fired  by  a  still  grander  hope. 

Several  very  interesting  studies  have  lately 
been  made  of  the  psychology  of  the  crowd  and 
the  behavior  of  mobs.  They  emphasize  the  fact 
that  the  crowd  is  likely  to  be  swayed  by  feeling 
or  swept  by  primitive  instincts.  While  here  and 
there  the  possible  benefits  of  such  feeling  and 
action  are  acknowledged,  they  are  rarely  em- 
phasized. The  crowd  is  usually  condemned  as 
the  enemy  of  cool  judgment.  Now  cool  judg- 
ment is  invaluable  and  should  reign  supreme  and 
alone  in  the  laborator)^,  study,  or  council.  But 
when  the  time  for  action  has  arrived,  feeling 
has  its  place  and  Is  also  essential.  No  one  con- 
demns the  feeling  which  comes  from  touching 

203 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

elbows  and  bursts  out  in  a  cheer  along  the  line 
of  battle.  We  hold  mass  meetings  to  stir  patri- 
otic feeling.  Some  learned  and  thoughtful  men 
seem  to  have  forgotten  that  cool  judgment  is 
not  the  whole  of  life  or  the  intellect  the  only 
faculty.  That  "  blind  giant,"  the  will,  must  also 
be  counted.  Action  is  at  least  of  equal  impor- 
tance with  thought.  If  we  do  not  feel  or  care, 
we  certainly  will  not  act  vigorously. 

Some  of  us,  too,  in  our  zeal  for  progress  seem 
to  have  forgotten  that  all  our  heritage  from  the 
past  is  not  bad.  This  is  a  sad  rehabilitation  of 
the  theory  of  total  depravity.  The  primitive 
may  still  be  good  in  essence.  Even  our  benighted 
ancestors,  upon  whom  we  look  down  with  such 
royal  conceit,  discovered  some  things  worth  re- 
membering, and  often  lived  very  vigorous  and 
worthy  lives. 

In  patriotism,  religion,  and  philanthropy,  in- 
tellectual perception  alone  is  not  enough.  Feel- 
ing and  will  are  essential  for  life  and  action. 
Otherwise  a  militant  and  triumphant  faith,  in 
the  best  sense  of  the  word,  degenerates  into  a 
dead  system  of  philosophy,  which  merely  cum- 
bers the  ground  and  exhales  germs  of  senile 
paralysis.    When  we  have  attained  a  reasonable 

204 


Social  Environuient 


ground  of  confidence  in  our  conclusions  a  stir 
of  feeling  or  tingling  of  the  blood  is  normal 
and  not  to  be  deprecated.  It  opens  new  reser- 
voirs of  energy,  increases  our  endurance,  and 
stirs  all  our  powers.  This  is  only  one  of  many 
arguments  for  social  worship  stirring  feeling, 
vivifying  ideals,  reviving  half-forgotten  convic- 
tions, and  rousing  every  power  to  fruitful  action. 

Patriotism,  philanthropy,  and  religion,  serv- 
ice of  country,  man,  and  God,  draw  man's 
thoughts  to  the  high,  distant,  and  grand  aims 
worthy  of  his  powers.  They  lift  him  above  the 
thought  of  self  and  the  petty  interests  of  the 
hour.  They  are  distinctively  human  exercises 
and  activities.  They  alone  can  call  out  his  vast 
stores  of  energy  and  make  him  the  Titan  he  can 
and  should  be.     Without  them  he  degenerates. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  means  and  forces 
which  make  for  progress.  As  we  hastily  review 
them,  we  cannot  but  feel  encouragement  and  hope 
and  a  deeper  sense  of  responsibility.  The  possi- 
bilities within  reach  are  indefinitely  greater  than 
our  attainments.  They  gather  power  through 
generations,  and  were  never  so  great  as  now. 

Material  wealth  has  never  increased  so  rap- 
idly as  during  the  preceding  fifty  years.    Yet  we 

205 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

hear  of  business  panics  arising  from  lack  of  con- 
fidence. There  is  no  real  lack  of  money,  but 
it  is  all  hoarded,  locked  up  by  timid  men  in 
safety-deposit  vaults.  Hence  business  suffers  de- 
pression. Morally  and  religiously  we  seem  to 
be  in  such  a  period  of  panic  or  depression  caused 
by  uncertainty  and  lack  of  confidence.  We  hesi- 
tate and  "let  I  dare  not  wait  upon  I  would." 
A  timidity  amounting  often  to  cowardice  cramps 
and  fetters  us.  We  are  afraid  of  we  know  not 
what.  Each  holds  back  instead  of  encouraging 
his  neighbor.  "  Volo^  non  possum  "  is  not  the 
motto  and  watchword  of  progress.  Some  day 
we  will  regain  confidence,  laugh  at  our  fears,  be 
ashamed  of  our  former  timidity  and  hesitation, 
and  resolutely  push  forward. 

Our  sketch  of  evolution  has  brought  to  light 
no  new  means  of  progress,  no  radical  cure-all 
for  human  weakness  and  troubles.  We  rely 
mainly  on  old  institutions  and  tendencies.  The 
new  is  always  contained  in  the  old,  or  is  the  old 
transformed  and  glorified.  The  Gospel  fulfills 
instead  of  abrogating  the  law.  Those  who 
loudly  proclaim  that  the  institutions  which  have 
served  man  in  the  past  and  which  have  largely 
made  him  what  he  is  are  now  antiquated  and 

206 


Social  Enviro7uncnt 


worthless  and  should  be  swept  away  to  give  place 
to  something  entirely  new,  have  forgotten  the 
power  of  the  generalized  and  primitive.  They 
would  "  throw  away  the  baby  with  the  bath 
water,"  to  borrow  a  very  homely  German  adage. 
Evolution  is  sometimes  radical,  but  underneath 
all  It  Is  always  conservative  as  well.  The  good 
of  the  past  thoroughly  tested  by  long  experience 
must  be  preserved,  but  it  must  be  modified  con- 
tinually to  meet  changing  conditions.  Any  great 
Institution  Is  like  an  army  which  must  continu- 
ally adapt  Its  tactics,  arms,  and  organization  to 
new  modes  of  warfare,  and  continually  change 
front  for  attack  or  defense.  Fulfillment  not  de- 
struction Is  the  watchword  of  the  wise  leader. 

The  evolutionist  has  a  useful  standpoint  from 
which  to  observe  and  judge  human  society  and 
institutions.  That  social  order  Is  the  best  which 
"  fits  as  many  as  possible  to  survive."  Any  in- 
stitution Is  valuable  just  In  proportion  to  Its  fit- 
ness and  adequacy  to  enlarge  and  deepen  man's 
life,  and  to  Increase  his  strength,  vigor,  power, 
courage,  and  efl'iclency.  The  fitness  and  ade- 
quacy are  tested  by  actual  experiment.  We  have 
a  firm  ground  of  confidence  In  the  old,  while  we 
feel  our  way  toward  the  new  and  still  better. 

207 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

But,  unless  our  study  has  been  fatally  wrong 
and  defective,  it  is  evident  that  the  social  envi- 
ronment of  every  individual  contains  just  as 
many  of  these  means  and  elements  of  progress 
as  he  accepts  and  adopts,  and  to  the  extent  to 
which  he  makes  use  of  them.  No  government 
or  institution  can  frame  an  environment  and 
force  it  upon  the  individual.  Hence  the  greatest 
movements  have  generally  started  and  gathered 
power  in  small  circles.  The  hope  of  Israel  lay, 
not  in  the  army  of  Saul,  but  with  David  and  his 
companions  in  the  Cave  of  Adullam.  The  voice 
which  was  to  move  the  world  came,  as  Dr.  Mar- 
tineau  has  said,  from  an  upper  chamber  in  Jeru- 
salem. When  Athenian  schools  of  philosophy 
had  sunk  in  senility,  a  Jew  was  writing  letters  to 
a  few  common  people  of  Corinth  and  Ephesus 
U^hlch  were  to  be  read  through  millennia.  A 
carpenter,  working  through  a  dozen  fishermen, 
conquered  Rome  and  revolutionized  the  world. 

We  might  venture  to  call  it  a  law  of  history 
that  the  improvement  of  environment  or  sur- 
roundings starts  with  a  life.  This  life  spreads 
by  contagion  from  man  to  man,  and  thus  society 
is  leavened.  Hence  we  return  to  our  starting 
point  that  we  frame  our  best  environment  by  liv- 

208 


Social  EiiviyojDuejit 


ing  with  the  best  men  and  women  of  our  own 
time  and  other  times  by  actual  association  and 
by  the  study  of  history  and  fiction,  and  by  reso- 
lutely and  continually  drawing  from  our  asso- 
ciates the  best  there  is  in  them,  and  contributing 
only  the  best  in  us.  By  this  habit  we  also  etiec- 
tually  aid  others  to  Improve  their  environment. 

There  Is  much  truth  in  the  "  strong  man  " 
theory  of  history.  But  the  greatest  and  wisest 
cannot  make  history  If  their  people  are  Immune 
to  the  contagion  of  their  life  and  power.  Soc- 
rates kindled  Plato  and  Aristotle,  and  through 
them  enlightened  Europe.  But  neither  Socrates 
nor  Paul  could  raise  and  revive  degenerate 
Athens.  We  need  and  have  great  leaders,  but 
a  host  of  Sergeant  Whatisnames  is  equally  neces- 
sary to  pass  on  the  contagion. 

Hence,  In  last  analysis,  if  society  Is  not  what 
it  should  be,  the  fault  lies  ultimately,  not  with 
government.  Institutions,  or  conditions,  but  with 
you  and  me.  We  can  make  a  social  circle  of 
our  own  as  and  what  we  will.  And  the  best 
social  conditions  and  Institutions  will  be  barren 
and  temporary  if  we  do  not  cheerfully  accept 
and  vigorously  promote  them. 


APPENDIX 

Chart  I  shows  the  great  divisions  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom  into  subkingdoms  or  phyla,  and 
their  subdivisions  Into  classes.  These  are  here 
presented  in  artificial  tabular  arrangement. 
After  each  class  stands  the  name  of  one  of  its 
most  common  or  familiar  representatives. 

The  classification  of  vertebrates  might  well 
have  been  carried  farther.  The  subdivisions  of 
the  fishes  which  Interest  us  are  the  orders  of 
sharks  and  ganoids.  The  latter  order  is  illus- 
trated by  the  sturgeons  and  gar  pikes.  The  only 
amphibia  which  concern  us  are  the  very  oldest, 
the  extinct  Stegocephala.  The  ancient  and  ex- 
tinct theromorphous  reptiles  were  probably  the 
ancestors  of  mammals.  Among  mammals  the 
duckbill  and  Echidna  are  the  last  surviving  egg- 
laying  forms.  The  marsupials  are  represented 
by  the  kangaroo  and  other  Australian  forms. 
Above  these  stand  the  placental  mammals,  in 
which  the  embryo  Is  nourished  by  the  placenta, 
which  absorbs  nutriment  and  oxygen  from  the 

2IO 


Appendix 


wall  of  the  uterus  of  the  mother.  Of  this  sub- 
class, Placentalla,  several  orders  interest  us:  i. 
Cetacea  (whales)  very  early  assumed  an  aquatic 
life.  2.  Rodents  are  represented  by  rabbits, 
squirrels,  woodchucks,  rats,  and  mice.  3.  Un- 
gulates Include  horses,  cows,  sheep,  deer,  ele- 
phants, rhinoceros,  and  others,  a  very  large  and 
flourishing  order.  4.  Carnlvora.  Examples: 
dogs,  wolves,  foxes,  cats,  weasels,  bears,  and 
hyenas.  5.  Lemurs,  now  found  mostly  In 
Madagascar,  were  the  ancestors  of  the  next  or- 
der. 6.  Primates  Include  monkeys  and  apes. 
At  the  head  of  the  latter  stand  the  so-called  an- 
thropoid apes,  the  gibbons,  orang,  chimpanzee, 
and  gorilla.  Probably  no  one  of  these  recent 
forms  represents  the  ancestor  of  man. 

Chart  II  shows  the  great  groups  of  the  animal 
kingdom  arranged  In  the  form  of  a  genealogical 
tree. 

Chart  III  shows  more  fully  the  genealogical 
tree  of  vertebrates.  Pithecanthropus  Is  the  form 
between  apes  and  man  discovered  by  DuBois  In 
Java.  For  further  account  of  this  remarkable 
form  se5  Nature^  vol.  II,  1895,  p.  291 ;  vol.  llil, 
pp.  116,  296;  Amer,  Joiirn.  Sci.,  vol.  Ixlx,  1895, 
p.  144.  For  similar  and  better  charts  see  Cope, 
15  211 


Mmt  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 


*'  Primary  Factors  of  Evolution,"  chap,  ii,  pp. 
74-171. 

Chart  IV  shows  the  succession  In  geological 
appearance  of  the  principal  forms  of  animals. 
The  time  of  first  appearance  Is  marked  by  a 
cross  opposite  the  geological  period  and  under 
the  name  of  the  group  of  animals.  Our  knowl- 
edge of  the  first  geological  appearance  of  the 
different  orders  of  placental  mammals  Is  very 
defective.  All  the  principal  orders  are  repre- 
sented In  the  Eocene  period,  and  must  have  origi- 
nated earlier,  as  remains  of  mammals  have  been 
found  in  triassic  rocks.  The  primitive  amphibia 
v/ere  the  Stegocephala.  The  earliest  reptiles 
were  probably  much  like  the  recent  Hatterla. 
The  Theromorpha  were  probably  the  ancestors 
of  mammals.  Archasopteryx  was  the  earliest 
bird,  with  teeth  and  long  tall.^ 

Chart  V  aims  to  show  the  successive  origin  of 
organs.^  Their  period  of  most  rapid  develop- 
ment Is  marked  by  a  double  cross.  A  single 
cross  marks  slower  Improvement.  —  means  a 
decline  In  relative  Importance  owing  to  the  rise 

^  Compare  Jordan  and  Kellogg:  "Evolution  of  Animal 
Life,"  p.  297;  Metcalf,  "Organic  Evolution,"  p.  105. 

212 


Appendix 


of  sonie  other  organ.  The  period  or  place  of 
the  first  appearance  of  an  organ  can  be  deter- 
mined fairly  accurately.  Concerning  its  period 
of  most  rapid  development  there  is  room  for 
much  difference  of  opinion.  Here  the  chart  loses 
in  accuracy  what  it  gains  in  definiteness.  Only 
substantial  and  general  correctness  can  be  claimed 
for  Charts  V  and  VI. 

Chart  VI  is  largely  physiological,  showing  the 
rise  of  functions  to  dominance  or  supremacy  in 
the  animal  body. 

Chart  VII  accompanies  Chapter  V.  It  shows 
the  principal  competitors  at  each  period  of  geo- 
logical history,  and  their  descent  from  the  ap- 
parently defeated  form  of  the  preceding  period. 


CHART  I. 

The  Animal  Kingdom  and  Its   Largest  Subdivisions. 


Sub  KING- 

DOMS   OR 

Prominent  Characters. 

Classes. 

Example. 

Phyla. 

I.  Protozoa. 

One  Cell. 

Rhizopoda. 

Amoeba. 

No  tissues. 

Infusoria. 

Paramoecium. 

• 

s 

o 

II.  Sponges. 

Pores.     Framework  of 
spicules  or  horn-fibers. 

Bathing 
Sponge. 

■T3 

c 

III.  Coelen- 

Radiate.    Primitive  stom- 

Hydrozoa. 

Hydra. 

terata. 

ach  or  Archenteron, 

Actinozoa. 
Scyphozoa. 

Sea-anemone. 
Jellyfish. 

C 
< 

Muscular  body  wall.    No 

IV.  Worms. 

skeleton  (?)  or  jointed 

Earthworm. 

appendages. 

• 

V.  Echino- 

Apparently  radiate. 

Starfish. 

derms. 

Hard  spinous  covering 

Sea  urchin. 

VI.  Arthro- 

External  locomotive 

Crustacea. 
Arachnoidea. 

Crabs. 
Spiders. 

poda. 

skeleton.     Legs. 

Myriapoda. 
Hexapoda. 

Thousand-legs 
Insects. 

214 


CHART    I— (Continued) 


SUBKING- 

DOMS  OR 

Prominent  Characters. 

Classes. 

Example. 

Phyla. 

Acephala. 

Clams. 

Vn.  Mol- 

External,  protective 

Gasteropoda. 

Snails. 

lusca. 

shell. 

Cephalopoda. 
Fish. 

Squids. 

Shark. 
Sturgeon. 
Perch  and 

£ 

Cod. 

o 

-a 

c 

Amphibians. 

Newt. 

^ 

Salamander. 

Frog. 

"c 

< 

Vni.  Ver- 

Backbone. 

Reptiles. 

Lizards. 

tebrata. 

Birds. 

Mammals. 

Snakes. 
Turtles. 

Crow\     Hawk- 
Duck-bill. 
Kangaroo. 
Rabbit. 
Dog  and  Cat. 
Deer.      Horse. 
Ape. 
Man. 

215 


f 

f 

Maa 


Marsupial   mammals 


t 


Reptiles 


Moll 


usca 


Sponges 


Placental  mammals 


Egg-laying  mammals 


Amphibia 


Arthropoda 


Coelenterata 


Protozoa 


Chart  II.      Genealogical   Tree  of  the   Animal   Kingdom. 


2l6 


Extinct 
Reptiles 


a 

.J 

H 

a. 


Carnivora 


Man 

Pithecanthropus 
Primates 

Lemurs 

Ungulates 

Rodents 


Whales  (?)        o, 


Frogs         "^ 


Salamanders 


Bony  Fishes 
(Cod) 


Sturgeons,  etc. 


Sharks 

Amphioxus 


Chart  III.      Genealogical  Tree  of  Vertebrates. 


217 


CHART  IV — Geological  Succession 


CO 

a 

Periods. 

• 
V) 

B 

u 

o 
+ 

in 
+ 

•  p— < 

O 

C 

O 
+ 

4 
>^ 

c 
o 
FQ 

1 
+ 

1 

,6 

Oh 

a 
< 

B 

;-! 
Cm 

+ 

• 
Vi 

O 
i-i 

+ 

1 

1 
1 

t 

+ 

o 

B 
o 

h 
+ 

+ 

a; 
c 

CO 
+ 

D- 

< 

+ 

CO 

S 

o 

+ 

lA 

S 

C 

<L) 
(J 

0) 

P^ 

+  r 

1 

i 

+ 

C 
o 

O 
P^ 

+ 

? 
? 

• 

i 

o 
"S 

<A 

u 

+ 

? 
? 

b£ 

c 
+ 

U5 

■i-> 

OS 

+ 

r 

• 

• 

'o 

N 

o 
c 
<u 

U 

Recent. 
Pleistocene 

and 
Pliocene. 
Miocene. 
Oligocene. 
Eocene. 

+ 

o 
O 

Cretaceous. 

Jurassic. 

Triassic. 

• 

o 
'o 

N 

Permian. 
Carboniferous. 
Devonian. 
Silurian. 

• 

c 

< 

2l8 


Mental 
Powers. 

Sense 
Perception. 

- 

*• 

>* 

Intelligence. 

<< 

Moral 
and 
Religious. 

"uiajs^s  snoAja^ 

+  -^--4-+       + 

Breathe  by 
Means  of — 

Surface 
of 
Body. 

it 

or  Gills. 

Gills. 

Gills  and 
Lungs. 

Lungs. +  + 

it 
it 

it 

»    +    +    +  + 
+    +    +  + 

•IU9JSXS    XJOJ9J3X3;                                      *            4.          _|.          _j_  _j_ 

0 

U 
w 

■SJ9§UT^ 

•pu^H 

•:  : 

•s(ii.iv 
pu-B  s89"x 

*  xxx^ 

•:5iunjx 

_l_ 

•9ATpnpoad9"^ 

— t-             ri-. 

*         +       +         ■ 

•iu9}sXs  9ATJS9S1Q 

*         ^       ^       +       +~-'^ 

W 
CO 

0 
N 
0 

s 

Coelenterata 

Worms 

15 

0 
£ 

< 

Lower  Mammals.. . 

Arboreal  M 

Prim.  Man 

V 
N 

> 

CJ 

Geolog. 

Period 

of 

Appear- 
ance. 

r^< 

< 

15 

Oh 

Mes. 
Mes. 
Cen..? 

c 

U 

0^ 

219 


CHART  VI— Sequence  of 


Stages. 

Most  Im- 
portant 
Part  of 
Brain. 

Organ 
Ap- 
proaching 
Culmina- 
tion. 

Most 
Rapidly 
Advanc- 
ing 
Organ. 

Dominant 
Func- 
tion. 

Protozoa. 

Digestive 

Coelenterata. 

and 
Repro- 
ductive. 

Repro- 
duction. 

Worm. 

Repro- 
ductive. 

(( 

Fish. 

Mid- 
brain. 

Cerebel- 
lum. 

Diges- 
tive. 

Muscles. 

Locomo- 
tion. 

Amphibia. 

n 

<( 

<( 

Reptile. 

Cerebrum  ? 

(( 

(< 

Lower  Mam- 
mal. 

Cerebrum 

and 
Cortex. 

Muscle. 

Muscle. 
Brain      } 

<( 

Arboreal 
Mammal. 

Cortex. 

Brain. 
Hand. 

<< 

Primitive  Man. 

Associa- 
tion areas 
of 

it 

Mental. 

Civilized  Man. 

Cortex. 

t( 

(( 

220 


Functions  or  Powers 


Dominant 

Mental  or 

Nervous 

Action. 

Sequence 
of  Per- 
ceptions. 

Sequence 

of 
Motives. 

Environ- 
ment 
Makes 
for— 

New  Attain- 
ments or 
Contributions. 

Touch 

and 
Smell. 

Hunger. 

The  cell. 

« 

tt 

Diges- 
tion and 

Digestive  and 
reproductive 
organs. 

Reflex. 

Sight. 

It 

Repro- 
duction. 

Vital  organs, 
Trunk  mus- 
cles. 

Reflex     ? 
Instinct. 

<< 

Hunger. 
Fear       1 
Anger     ? 

Strength 

Backbone  ? 

Jaws. 

Brain. 

Backbone  ? 

ft 

Smell. 

(( 

and 

Jointed  Legs. 

n 

it 

(( 

activity. 

Lungs. 
Cerebral 
cortex. 

Intelli- 
gence   ? 

Smell. 
Sight.       I 
Hearing. 

The  above 
and  other 
pruden- 
tial 

<< 

and 
Shrewd- 

Placental 
Development. 

Intelli- 
gence. 

J 

Consid- 
erations. 

ness. 

Hand. 

« 

€i 

(< 

<< 

Personality. 

Reason. 

Reason. 

Truth 

and 

Right. 

Righte- 
ousness. 

221 


Man 


Worms 
Chart  VII.      The  Survival  of  the   Fittest. 


222 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

General  Evolution 

Conn,  H.  W.     "The  Method  of  Evolution,"  New  York, 

1900. 
Cope,  E.  D.     "Origin  of  the  Fittest,"  New  York,  1887. 

"Primary  Factors  of  Evolution,"  Chicago,  1896. 

Darwin,  C.     "Origin  of  Species";  various  editions. 

"Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication,"  New 

York,  1868. 

Gray,  A.     "Darwiniana,"  New  York,  1877. 
Haeckel,  E.     "History  of  Creation,"  London,  1876. 

"  Systematische  Phylogenie,"  Berlin,  1895. 

Jordan,    D.    S.,    and    Kellogg,    V.    L.     "Evolution    and 

Animal  Life,"  New  York,  1907. 
Metcalf,  M.  M.     "Organic  Evolution,"  New  York,  1904. 
Morgan,  T.  H.     "Evolution  and  Adaptation,"  New  York, 

1903. 
Osborn,  H.  F.     "From  the  Greeks  to  Darwin,"  New  '^'ork, 

1894. 
Romanes,  G,  J.     "Darwin  and  After  Darwin,"  Chicago, 

1892. 
Wallace,  A.  R.     "  Darwinism,"  New  York,  1889. 

Human  Evolution 

Darwin,  C.     "The  Descent  of  Man,"  New  York,  1872. 
Drummond,  H.     "Ascent  of  Man,"  New  ^'ork,  1894. 

223 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

FisKE,  J.     "The  Destiny  of  Man,"  Boston,  1884. 
Haeckel,  E.     "The  Evolution  of  Man,"  New  York,  1892. 
Heineman,   T.   W.     "Psychic    and    Economic    Results   of 

Man's  Physical  Uprightness,"  Pasadena,  Cal.,  1906. 
Huxley,  T.  H.     "Man's   Place  in  Nature,"  New  York, 

1894. 

"Evolution  and  Ethics,"  New  York,  1894. 

Kropotkin,    p.     "Mutual   Aid,   a    Factor   in    Evolution," 

New  York,  1903. 
LoTZE,  H.     "Microcosmus,"  New  York,  1885. 
Tyler,  J.  M.     "  The  Whence  and  the  Whither  of  Man." 

New  York,  1896. 
See  also,  Jordan  and  Kellogg's  "Evolution  and  Animal 

Life,"  Chap.  xxi. 

Family  and  Society 

Bagehot,  W.     "  Physics  and  Politics,"  New  York,  1873. 
GiDDiNGS,  F.  W.     "  Principles  of  Sociology,"  New  York, 
1896. 

"Elements  of  Sociology,"  New  York,  1898. 

Howard,  G.   E.     "History  of  Matrimonial   Institutions," 

Bibliography,  Chicago,  1904. 
Lubbock,  J.     "Origin  of  Civilization,"  New  York,  1871. 
McLennan,   J.   F.     "The   Patriarchal  Theory,"   London, 

1885. 

"Studies  in  Ancient  History,"  London,  1886. 

"Primitive  Marriage,"  London,  1865. 

Morgan,  L.  H.     "Systems  of  Consanguinity  and  Affinity," 

Washington,  1871.     Smithsonian  Contributions. 

"Ancient  Society,"  New  York,  1877. 

224 


Bibliograpliy 


Westermarck,  E.  "A  History  of  Human  Marriage," 
London,  1901. 

Animal  Intelligence  and  Instinct 

Morgan,  L.     "Animal  Life  and  Intelligence,"  1891. 

"Habit  and  Instinct,"  1896. 

Romanes,  G.  J.     "Animal  Intelligence,"  New  York,  1884. 

Fundamental    and    Accessory    Muscles    and    Nerve 

Centers 

BuRK,  F.  "From  Fundamental  to  Accessory  in  the  Devel- 
opment of  the  Nervous  System,"  Fed.  Sem.,  vi,  i,  p.  345. 

Hartwell,  E.  M.  "Physical  Training,"  Report  of  Com. 
of  Education  of  U.  S.,  1903,  i,  p.  724. 

Mercier,  C.  "The  Nervous  System  and  the  Mind,"  New 
York,  1888. 

Ross,  J.  "Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System,"  Philadelphia, 
1886. 

Tyler,  J.  M.  "Growth  and  Education,"  pp.  30-48,  Bos- 
ton, 1907. 

Recapitulation 

Baldwin,    J.    M.     "Mental    Development,"    New    '^'ork, 

1897,  Chap.  i. 
Guillet,  C.     "Recapitulation   and   Education,"  Pedagog. 

Seminary,  vii,  p.  397. 
Morgan,  T.  H.     "Education  and  Adaptation,"  New  ^'ork, 

1903,  Chap.  iii. 
Sedgwick,    A.      "Law    of    Development     Known    as    von 

Baer's  Law,"  Quart.  Jourti.  Mic.  Scienn',  xxxvi,  p.  35, 

225 


Man  in  the  Light  of  Evolution 

Adolescence 

BuRNHAM,  W.  H.  "The  Study  of  Adolescence,"  Ped.  Sem., 
i,  1891,  p.  196. 

CoE,  G.  H.     "The  Spiritual  Life,"  New  York,  1900. 

Hall,  G.  S.     "Adolescence,"  New  York,  1904. 

"Youth,"  New  York,  1906. 

Lancaster,  E.  G.  "  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Adoles- 
cence," Ped.  Sem.,  v,  1897,  p.  61. 

Starbuck,  E.  D.  "The  Psychology  of  Religion,"  New 
York,  1900. 

Geographical  Distribution 

Heilprin,  a.     "Geographical  and  Geological  Distribution 

of  Animals,"  New  York,  1887. 
Lydekker,  R.     "Geographical  Distribution  of  Mammals," 

Cambridge,  1896. 
Wallace,  A.  R.,  and  Dyer,  T.  T.     "Distribution  of  Life," 

New  York,  1885. 
See  also,  Jordan  and  Kellogg's  "Evolution  and  Animal 

Life,"  Chaps,  xiv  and  viii. 

Degeneration 

Lankester,  R.     "Degeneration,"  London,  1880. 

VAN    Beneden,   E.     "Animal    Parasites   and   Messmates," 

New  York,  1889. 
Wilson,  A.     "Degeneration,"  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.,  xix,  1881,  p. 

382. 
See  also,  Jordan  and  Kellogg's  "Evolution  and  Animal 

Life,"  Chap.  xvii. 

226 


Bibliography 


Religion 

Caird,  E.     "Evolution  of  Religion,"  Glasgow,  1893. 
FisKE,  J.     "Through  Nature  to  God,"  Boston. 
Lubbock,  J.     "Origin  of  Civilization,"  New  York,  1871. 
Pfleiderer,  O.     "Philosophy  of  Religion,"   Lecture   IV 

New  York,  1894. 
TiELE,  C.  P.     "Elements  of  the  Science  of  Religion,"  New 

York,  1897. 
For  an  excellent  and  well-classified  journal  bibliography  of 

evolution,  see  Jordan  and  Kellogg's  "Evolution  and 

Animal  Life." 


16 


INDEX 


Adolescence,  87. 
Adversity,  108,  116. 
Aid,  mutual,  45. 
Animals, 

Cenozoic,  98. 

Mesozoic,  96. 

Paleozoic,  94. 
Arboreal  life,  35. 
Augustine,  St.,  3. 

Bible,  The,  2,  199. 
BusHNELL,  H.,  140. 

Carlyle,  T.,  179. 
Childhood,  87. 
Church,  201. 
Classification,  13. 
Coelenterates,  25,  57. 
Conformity  to  environment, 

163. 
Convictions,  147. 

Darv^'inism,  i,  11. 
Degeneration,    57,    67,    80, 
III,  164. 


Development,       incomplete, 

85,  89. 
Divergence,  20,  164. 

Dynasties  in  evolution,  65. 

Education,  87,  127,  183,  194. 

natural,  107. 
Eggs,  number  of,  7,  43. 
Embryology,  16. 
Environment,  166. 

conformity  to,  163. 

early,   139,  196. 

social,  184. 

surroundings     and,     169, 
190. 
Evolution,  goal  of,  186. 

mental,  68, 

oriental  theories  of,  I. 
Experiment,  life  an,  18,  64, 
133,  166. 

Faith,  115,  125,  160. 
Family,  origin  of,  41. 
Feeling,  importance  of,  181, 
203. 


229 


Index 


FiSKE,   J.,    142. 

Fitness,  105,  121,  164. 

Fitness  and  dominance,  104, 
118. 

Fittest,  survival  of,  9,  92. 

Functions,  sequence  of  rul- 
ing, 64. 

Gladiatorial  theory,  vi,  99. 

Home,  195. 

Huxley,  T.,  40,  124,  193. 

Ideals,  192. 
Insects,  30,  102. 

James,  W.,  116. 

Land,  life  on,  32,  103. 
Length    of    life    and    intel- 
ligence, 34. 
Lewis,  T.,  2. 
Locomotion  and  brain,  64. 

Mammals,  34,  43,  98,  103. 

Arboreal,  35. 

Cenozoic,  98. 
Man,  stages  in  evolution  of, 

22,  38,59,  79,   120,  176, 
186. 
description  of,  82,  1 86. 
Miltonic  hypothesis,  4. 


Mind,  evolution  of,  68. 
Mollusks,  29,  loi. 
Morals,  49,  80. 
primitive,  49. 
Motives,  sequence  of,  59,  73. 
Muscle,  27,  36,  58,  87. 

Ontogenesis  and  phylogene- 
sis, 17,  86, 

OSBORN,  H.,  34. 

Personality,     contagion     of, 

156. 
Plato,  112,  150,  173. 
Plutarch,  72. 
Progress,  79,  in,  164,  174. 
Progress     and     opportunity, 

172. 
Protoplasm,  24,  62. 

Racial  experience,  131. 
Radiation,  adaptive,  164. 
Relations,  importance  of,  70, 

172. 
Religion,  51,  70,  80,  89,  in, 

136,  146,  176,  201. 
Reproduction,  42. 
Reptiles,  97. 


School,  196. 
Seelye,  J.,  181. 


230 


Index 


Selection,  natural,  7,  47,  135, 

Size  and  length  of  life,  34, 
102. 

Size  and  intelligence,  64. 

Skeleton,  29,  100. 

Society,  primitive,  48. 

Socrates,  112,  150. 

Stevenson,  R.,  193. 

Struggle  for  existence,  7,  19. 

Surroundings  and  environ- 
ment, 169,  190. 


Survival,  165. 

of  fittest,  7,  92,  135. 

Valley  of  Humiliation,    128, 

201. 
Verdict  of  history,  134. 
Vertebrates,  29,  100. 

Worms,  26,  57. 

Zoophytes,  25,  57. 


(1) 


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maximum  of  charm  and  clarity,  making  the  somewhat 
awesome  subject  of  evolution  as  interesting  as  romance. 
The  knowledge  of  the  factors  and  phenomena  of  organic 
evolution  are  presented  in  a  condensed  and  fascinating  way 
for  the  general  reader. 

The  work  not  only  embodies  the  theories  and  teachings 
of  Darwin,  Huxley,  Tyndall  and  Spencer,  but  Post- 
Darwinian  conception  of  humanity  and  the  genealogy  of 
man. 

"This  is  the  most  satisfactory  treatment  of  evolution  that 
teachers  and  students  can  find.  Those  whose  school  days  ended 
before  evolution  was  universally  taught  need  something  reliable, 
clear,  and  interesting  upon  the  subject,  and  this  book  furnishes  all 
this.  There  is  no  better  authority  on  the  subject  in  this  country, 
probably,  than  President  Jordan  of  Stanford  University.  No  other 
university  president  has  the  ear  of  the  public  more  completely  than 
has  he,  and  from  no  other  could  a  treatise  on  this  subject  come 
with  the  same  appropriateness.  The  science  is  reliable,  the  literary 
style  attractive,  and  the  spirit  reverent." — Jotirnal  of  Education. 

D.     APPLETON     and     company,     new     YORK. 


WORKS  OF  THOMAS   H.  HUXLEY. 


A   Manual  of  the   Anatomy   of  Vertebrated 

Animals.     Illustrated $2. 50 

A  Manual  of  the  Anatomy  of  Invertebrated 

Animals.     Illustrated        .....  2.50 

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On   the  Origin  of  Species;   or,  The  Causes 

of  the  Phenomena  of  Nature                      .  i.oo 

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Controverted  Questions 2.00 

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BOOKS  BY  CHARLES  DARWIN,  LL.D,,  RR.S. 


Origin    of   Species   by  Means   of  Natural    Selection;  or,  The 

Preservation  of  Favored  Races  in  the  Struggle  for  Life.     From 
sixth  and  last  London  edition.     2  vols.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $4,00. 

Descent  of  Man,  and  Selection  in  Relation  to  Sex.  Many 
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'^A    SUBJECT    GREAT    AND    FASCINATING." 
Degeneration. 

By  Professor  Max  Nordau.  Translated  from 
the  second  edition  of  the  German  work.  Svo. 
Cloth,  $3.50. 

**  A  powerful,  trenchant,  savage  attack  on  all  the  leading  literary 
and  artistic  idols  of  the  time  by  a  man  of  great  intellectual  power,  im- 
mense range  of  knowledge,  and  the  possessor  of  a  lucid  style  rare  among 
German  writers,  and  becoming  rarer  everywhere,  owing  to  the  very 
influences  which  Nordau  attacks  with  such  unsparing  energy,  such  eager 
hatred." — London  Chronicle. 

"  Let  us  say  at  once  that  the  English-reading  public  should  be 
grateful  for  an  English  rendering  of  Max  Nordau's  polemic.  It  will 
provide  society  with  a  subject  that  may  last  as  long  ab  the  present  Gov- 
ernment. .  .  .  We  read  the  pages  without  finding  one  dull,  sometimes 
in  reluctant  agreement,  sometimes  with  amused  contempt,  sometimes  with 
angry  indignation." — London  Saturday  Review. 

**  Herr  Nordau's  book  fills  a  void,  not  merely  in  the  systems  of 
Lombroso,  as  he  says,  but  in  all  existing  systems  of  English  and  American 
criticism  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  It  is  not  literary  criticism 
pure  and  simple,  though  it  is  not  lacking  in  literary  qualities  of  a  high 
order,  but  it  is  something  which  has  long  been  needed,  for  of  literary 
criticism,  so  called,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  there  is  always  an 
abundance  ;  but  it  is  scientific  criticism — the  penetration  to  and  the 
interpretation  of  the  spirit  within  the  letter,  the  apprehension  of  motives 
as  well  as  means,  and  the  comprehension  of  temporal  effects  as  well  as 
final  results,  its  explanation,  classification,  and  largely  condemnation, 
for  it  is  not  a  healthy  condition  which  he  has  studied,  but  its  absence, 
its  loss  ;  it  is  degeneration.  .  .  .  lie  has  written  a  great  book,  which 
every  thoughtful  lover  of  art  and  literature  and  every  serious  student 
of  sociology  and  morality  should  read  carefully  and  ponder  slowly  and 
wisely." — Richard  Henry  Stoddard  in  the  Mail  and  Express. 


D.      APPLETON       AND       COMPANY.      NEW      YORK. 


BY  EMINENT  SQENTISTS. 


Foot-Notes  to  Evolution. 

A  Series  of  Popular  Addresses  on  the  Evolution  of  Life.  By 
David  Starr  Jordan,  Ph.D.,  President  of  Leland  Stanford  Junioi 
University.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $i.75- 

This  book  is  a  popular  review  of  the  evolution  philosophy  of  to-day,  con-. 
sidered  more  especially  in  its  biological  aspects.  The  essential  unity  of  al] 
organisms,  both  plant  and  animal,  the  fact  that  progress  in  life  consists  solely 
of  adaptation  to  environment,  and  the  relation  of  heredity  and  degeneration  to 
the  evolutional  scheme,  are  among  the  points  of  special  interest. 

Outlines  of  the  Earth's  History. 

By  Prof.  N.  S.  Shaler,  of  Harvard  University.  Illustrated.  i2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.75. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  provide  the  beginner  in  the  study  of  the  earth'i 
history  with  a  general  account  of  those  actions  which  can  be  readily  understood 
and  which  will  afford  him  clear  understanding  as  to  the  nature  of  the  processes 
which  have  made  this  and  other  celestial  spheres. 

The  Psychology  of  Suggestion. 

A  Research  into  the  Subconscious  Nature  of  Man  and  Society.  By 
Boris  Sidis,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  Associate  in  Psychology  at  the  Pathological 
Institute  of  the  New  York  State  Hospitals.  With  an  Introduction  by 
Prof.  William  James,  of  Harvard  University.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

The  book  is  an  original  investigation  into  the  nature  of  suggestion  and  into 
the  subconscious  mechanism  of  the  human  mind.  The  subconscious  nature  of 
man's  psychic  life  is  closely  examined,  and  a  theory  of  the  constitution  and 
activity  of  the  mind  is  worked  out.  The  theory  of  the  subconscious  is  used  to 
elucidate  many  important  pathological  phenomena  of  individual  and  social 
Hfe,  Mental  epidemics  are  traced  to  their  source,  and  their  causes  and  nature 
of  operation  are  examined  and  explained. 

Evolutional  Ethics  and  Animal  Psychology. 

By  E.  P.  Evans.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

Contents.— The  Ethics  of  Tribal  Society.  Religious  Belief  as  a  Basis  of 
Moral  Obligation.  Ethical  Relations  of  Man  to  Beast.  Metempsychosis. 
Mind  in  Man  and  Brute.  Progress  and  Perfectibility  in  the  Lower  Animals. 
Ideation  in  Animals  and  Men.  Speech  as  a  Barrier  between  Man  and  Beast. 
The  .(Esthetic  Sense  and  Religious  Sentiment  in  Animads.  Bibliography. 
Index. 

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"  Mr.  Spencer  has  thoroughly  studied  the  issues  which  are  behind  the 
social  and  political  life  of  our  own  time,  not  exactly  those  issues  which  are  dis- 
cussed in  Parliament  or  in  Conj^ress,  but  the  principles  of  all  modern  govern- 
ment, which  are  slowly  changing  in  response  to  the  broader  industrial  and 
general  development  of  human  experience.  One  will  obtain  no  suggestions 
out  of  his  book  for  guiding  a  political  party  or  carrying  a  point  in  economics, 
hut  he  will  find  the  principles  of  sociology,  as  thuy  pertain  to  the  whole  of  life, 
better  stated  in  these  pages  than  he  can  find  them  expressed  anywhere  else. 
It  is  in  this  sense  that  this  work  is  important  and  fresh  and  vitalizing.  It  goes 
constantly  to  the  foundation  of  things." — Boston  Herald. 

Facts  and  Comments. 

Uniform  edition.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.20  net;  postage  12  cents 
additional. 

From  the  analytical  brain  of  a  philosopher  of  the  greatness  of  Herbert 
Spencer — a  greatness  that  has  extended  over  more  than  two  generations — the 
subjects  treated  in  this,  his  last  volume,  assume  a  commanding  importance. 
Such  topics  as  "Americanisms,"  "Presence  of  Mind,"  "The  Corruption  of 
Music,"  "  Estimates  of  Men,"  "State  Education,"  etc.,  are  invested  with  a  life 
and  actuality  only  possible  under  his  stimulating  treatment. 

Various  Fragments. 

i2mo.     Cloth,  $1-25. 

Along  with  a  considerable  variety  of  other  matter,  these  "  Fragments" 
include  a  number  of  replies  to  criticisms,  among  which  will  be  found  some  of 
the  best  specimens  of  Mr.  Spencer's  controversial  writings,  notably  his  letter  to 
the  London  Athenceum  on  Professor  Huxley's  famous  address  on  Evolutionary 
Ethics.  His  views  on  copyright,  national  and  international,  "Social  Evolu- 
tion and  Social  Duty,"  and  "Anglo-American  Arbitration,"  also  form  a  part 
of  the  contents. 

Education  :  Intellectual,  Moral,  and  Physical. 

i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

Contents. — What  Knowledge  is  of  most  Worth  ?  Intellectual  Educa- 
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A   STUDY   IN   PSYCHOLOGY. 


Genius  and  Degeneration. 

By  Dr.  William  Hirsch.  With  a  Preface  by 
Prof.  Dr.  E.  Mendel.  Translated  from  the  second 
edition  of  the  German  work.  Large  8vo,  uniform 
with  Nordau's  "  Degeneration."     Cloth,  $3.50. 

Dr.  Hirsch's  acute  and  suggestive  study  of  modern 
tendencies  was  begun  before  '*  Degeneration  "  was  published, 
with  the  purpose  of  presenting  entirely  opposite  deductions 
and  conclusions.  The  appearance  of  Dr.  Nordau's  famous 
book,  with  its  criticisms  upon  Dr.  Hirsch's  position,  enabled 
the  latter  to  extend  the  scope  of  his  work,  which  becomes  a 
scientific  answer  to  Dr.  Nordau,  although  this  was  not  its 
specific  purpose  originally.  Dr.  Nordau  has  startled  the 
reading  world  by  his  cry  of  "Degeneration";  Dr.  Hirsch 
opposes  his  conclusions  by  demonstrating  the  difference 
between  **  Genius  "  and  "  Degeneration,"  and  analyzing  the 
social,  literary,  and  artistic  manifestations  of  the  day  dis- 
passionately and  with  a  wealth  of  suggestive  illustrations. 

"The  first  intelligent,  rational,  and  scientific  study  of  a  great  subject. 
...  In  the  development  of  his  argument  Dr.  Hirsch  frequently  finds  it 
necessary  to  attack  the  positions  assumed  by  Nordau  and  Lombroso,  his 
two  leading  adversaries.  .  .  .  Only  calm  and  sober  reason  endure.  Dr. 
Hirsch  possesses  that  calmness  and  sobriety.  His  work  will  find  a  per- 
manent place  among  the  authorities  of  science." — A^ezv  York  Herald. 

"  Dr.  Hirsch's  researches  are  intended  to  bring  the  reader  to  the 
conviction  that  '  no  psychological  meaning  can  be  attached  to  the  word 
genius.'  .  .  .  While  all  men  of  genius  have  common  traits,  they  are  not 
traits  characteristic  of  genius  ;  they  are  such  as  are  possessed  by  other  men, 
and  more  or  less  by  all  men.  .  .  .  Dr.  Hirsch  believes  that  most  of  the 
great  men,  both  of  art  and  science,  were  misunderstood  by  their  contem- 
poraries, and  were  only  appreciated  after  they  were  dead." 

— Miss  J.  L.  Gilder  in  the  Sunday  World. 

" '  Genius  and  Degeneration '  ought  to  be  read  by  every  man  and 
woman  who  professes  to  keep  in  touch  with  modern  thought.  It  is  deeply 
interesting  and  so  full  of  information  that  by  intellectual  readers  it  will 
be  seized  upon  with  avidity." — Btiffalo  Commercial. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


Date 

Due 

Library  Bureau  Cat.  no.  1137 


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